Better Together
by superfreakerz
Summary: Over a year has passed since Fairy Tail disbanded after the battle with Tartaros. Natsu and Happy managed to gather almost everyone and reform their beloved guild, but they are missing one person: Lucy, who had been living contentedly in Crocus. Can they find Lucy and bring her back with everyone else? Will a new relationship spark during the process?
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** This is my first ever story for Fairy Tail! I really only write for this one pairing in Bleach, but I figured I would branch out with another OTP of mine! I am just an amateur writer with ideas but I hope you enjoy regardless! Please leave a review! :)

Chapter 1

It was a beautiful, sunny day in Crocus, the grass swaying side to side while flowers proudly blossomed magnificent petals. There were no clouds in the sky, only an endless sea of azure. Children were playing loudly outside, thankfully not wrecking anything as they played with their amateur level of magic. It was in this regal city where a young journalist woke up with a small smile plastered on her face. The blonde mage pushed back her golden mane of jumbled hair and raised her arms above her head to stretch, letting out a yawn as she did. It was a beautiful day and Lucy was determined to spend it relaxing before the weekend would come to an end the next day.

Taking a seat on her new couch, Lucy glanced around at her newish apartment. It was much better than her last as it was much more spacious and the appliances were well-kept. The previous owners even left behind some of their furniture, which Lucy was grateful for considering she was running low on money recently. Being a journalist did not pay the bills as well as going on jobs did. Thus, the mage saved money as much as she could and was beyond excited to find this spacious apartment for a cheaper price than her previous home. Though she had to admit it was much lonelier.

It had been over a year since Natsu and the others went their own ways, leaving Lucy alone and heartbroken. Fairy Tail was her home and it was suddenly dismantled as if it were nothing. Everyone argued with Makarov at first, telling him he was crazy to try and do such a thing. I mean, they were all a family, how could they not? Fairy Tail was their home, the place where they built such strong bonds with each other. How could he try to disband their guild? Their _family?_ In the end, their efforts were futile and the guild was disbanded, forcing everyone to go their own ways.

The worst part of it all was when Lucy went home to discover a note on her desk, informing her that Natsu and Happy were going on a year-long training mission. She remembered running out, tears streaming down her face as she tried to find them. Of course, it was useless and the two were long gone. After that, Lucy began to resent the two for leaving her alone. Why couldn't they take her with them? She knew Natsu had lost Igneel, but she lost somebody just as important during their battle with Tartaros. How could they just leave her without saying a proper goodbye? Her anger towards her friends disappeared eventually as she finally managed to get her life back on track.

Lucy managed to get a job with Jason, the weird reporter that overused the word "cool." Though she wasn't expecting a modeling position with skimpy pin-up pictures. Practically begging Jason for a journaling job, she was beyond relieved when he allowed her to be his intern. She began writing articles of mages, though it always painfully reminded her of Fairy Tail, and quickly got the hang of it. Her internship quickly ended and she was a full-on journalist. All of that in a span of almost a year and a half.

Lucy shook her head furiously, trying not to remember Fairy Tail and her long gone friends. It was hard to do that, however, when she turned her head and saw her room wall covered in clues on where they were. Taking one last sip of her coffee, the girl walked over to the board covered in string and articles on her old friends and took a deep breath. It was now or never. It was time to move on.

Ripping away at the map on her wall, Lucy shredded it and tossed it away, along with all of the articles and string. Her eyes landed on one article in particular with a picture of a certain pink-haired mage- who had apparently burned down a whole forest. Fighting back tears, the golden-haired girl sighed and went back to her laptop. She refused to think about them, all of them, especially when she knew they weren't thinking of her. Thus, the mage began to write, temporarily forgetting the pain she felt in her heart.

* * *

Lucy jumped in her seat at the startling pounding on her door. She had been so consumed in her writing, it nearly caused her to have a heart attack due to the loud, banging noises. Huffing and muttering curse words, she threw open her door.

"What do you want, Jason?" the girl asked, her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

The blonde boy usually would've cowered away in a corner, afraid of Lucy's wrath, but this time he remained where he stood. Lucy noticed his eyes were significantly widened. There had to be something juicy to write about if he was this determined to talk to her.

"L-Lucy," Jason started, his body shaking, "they are here. Your friends are here in Crocus."

* * *

"Oi, Happy," a certain pink-haired mage started as he walked down the streets of Crocus, "do you remember the Grand Magic Games? Seems like forever ago, doesn't it?"

"Aye! Sting and Rogue were the enemies back then!" the blue cat answered while munching on a raw fish.

"Oh yeah! Forgot all about that! Man, we've been walking forever! I wanna hurry up and get to Fairy Tail already so I can kick Gray's ass!"

"We would get there quicker if we rode the train!"

Natsu stopped in his tracks as he hunched over, grabbing his stomach. His face turned a tint of green and he began to feel nauseous. Just thinking of riding the train made him want to hurl. That wasn't the only thing making his stomach feel upset, however. He was anxious to see the guild again, especially a certain blonde mage he had left behind.

"Just hurry up and eat that fish already so you can fly us back!"

"Aye, sir!"

With that, the two were on their way towards Magnolia, leaving Crocus, unaware that they were also leaving the person they were looking forward to seeing again the most.

* * *

"W-What do you mean?" Lucy asked incredulously. There was no way someone from Fairy Tail could just magically show up in Crocus when she had spent so long looking for them. She had finally given up, close to moving on. It just couldn't be possible.

"Natsu and Happy were spotted in Crocus near the castle. I guess they've been starting trouble again, as always," Jason answered, taking in the effect his words had on the girl in front of him. He could see her chocolate brown eyes widen and her body becoming limp. It was clearly too much for her to take in.

"Good for them," Lucy finally replied rather plainly. "Is that all?"

"Lucy, I think you should-"

"Goodnight, Jason! I'll see you tomorrow at work!"

With that, the blonde mage closed the door. She couldn't see them. Not now. Maybe not ever. Though she no longer felt anger towards them, she would be lying if she said she forgave them. They left without her, not even bothering saying goodbye. They were no longer her friends. Natsu and Happy were just people she used to know. Lucy liked her life the way it was. The girl kept her distance from people so as to not be heartbroken again. She had a nice apartment, a nice job, and a nice boss. She didn't need anything or anyone else.

Or at least that's what she told herself as she climbed into her bed and covered herself with her blanket. Tears streamed down her face as her body shuddered. She was _finally_ moving on. She even removed the tacky map off of her wall, a symbol of her devotion to finding her friends. Why did those two have to show up then? Lucy then began to doze off into slumber as she cried herself to sleep, something she had recently stopped doing.

* * *

"WE ARE BACK!" Natsu shouted as he entered the place he called home. "OI GRAY! WHERE ARE YOU SO I CAN KICK YOUR-"

Natsu's eyes widened as he took in his surroundings. The place was _empty._ Even on the busiest days where most of the guild was on jobs it was _never_ empty. Looking more closely, he saw that the building itself wasn't in the best condition, though one wouldn't be able to notice from the outside. Paint was chipping off of the walls as cobwebs were just about everywhere.

"N-Natsu, what happened? Where is everyone?" Happy asked as he plopped himself on his partner's shoulders.

"I don't know," Natsu answered. "Let's just go see Lucy then! Maybe the guild switched buildings or somethin'!"

With that, the two were on their way to a familiar apartment, one that they had invaded a countless number of times. Natsu snickered as Happy flew them towards the window, preparing to pounce on Lucy when they barge in. Finally, the two were crashing into the cramped apartment, creating a loud ruckus as they fell on the floor.

"WE'RE BACK, LUCY!" the two exclaimed, only to find that the place was empty as well.

Not just Lucy-less, but completely empty. No furniture or anything. Natsu couldn't even smell Lucy's scent, meaning she hadn't been there in a long time.

"Natsu, she's gone!" Happy cried out, tears gathering in his eyes. "Where did Lucy go?"

"Who's in there!?" the two heard from outside. The door burst open and they saw that it was Lucy's landlord, whose name they never bothered to know. "Y-You two! What are you two doing in here!?"

"Oi, lady!" Natsu greeted, receiving a smack to the head in reply from the petite lady. "Oww! That hurt! Anyways, where the hell is Lucy?"

The short lady frowned as she stared at the two in front of her. They clearly hadn't heard anything.

"She's gone," the landlady answered grimly.

"What do you mean gone!?" Natsu asked, his anger starting to flare. A small flame escaped his mouth.

"She moved. She doesn't live here anymore."

"She moved? Where did she move to?" Happy asked, beginning to munch on another fish to calm his nerves.

"I don't know. Didn't ask."

"Maybe she's at the guild with everyone else!" Natsu exclaimed, a bright smile on his face. "Oi, do you know where the new Fairy Tail guild is?"

The petite woman's eyes widened as she asked, "Oh, did you guys get together again? It was such a shame when the guild was disbanded."

"W-What? Disbanded? What the hell are you talking about, lady?"

The landlord clasped her mouth shut. Of course he didn't know. And now she just babbled it to him. Well, there was no going back now.

"Fairy Tail disbanded over a year ago. It is no longer a guild."

 **AN:** What do you guys think? Should I keep going? Please review and let me know what you think :D


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** WOW this community is much more active than the ulquihime community! I'm glad this story already got so many views! And some amazing reviews! :) Please leave more reviews and make my day :D

Chapter 2

Lucy woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, something that always happened whenever she cried herself to sleep. Washing her face, she looked in the mirror to find that her eyes were puffy from her continuous sobs. The girl didn't mind, however. It's not like she was a pin-up model anymore anyways. Quickly getting ready for work, the mage gave herself one last look-over in the mirror. She wore a tight, pastel-blue tank top with a short black skirt. Her long hair was tied in a high ponytail, swishing side to side as she walked towards the door, which suddenly pounded loudly as someone knocked.

Throwing open the door, Lucy shouted, "JASON IF YOU BANG ON MY DOOR ONE MORE TIME-"

The girl was shocked to see that it wasn't her eccentric boss. Instead, standing in front of her was none other than another celestial mage: Yukino. The two girls had gotten closer since she had moved to Crocus. The white-haired mage even offered Lucy to join Sabertooth, which Lucy politely declined. She was done with guilds.

"Yukino? What are you doing here?" Lucy asked as she hugged the girl.

"Hello, Lucy. I came to inform you that Natsu and Happy were here in Crocus yesterday," Yukino answered with an eager smile on her face.

Lucy awkwardly chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. "Oh, yeah. I've heard. Thanks for trying to let me know, Yukino!"

"You aren't going to meet with them?"

"Nope!" Lucy answered with a bright smile on her face. She walked out of her apartment, locking the door behind her, and urged her friend to walk with her. "I am content with life here in Crocus. I love my job and my apartment! Everything is just fine the way it is!"

"But aren't you lonely?"

"Not at all!" Lucy lied. "I have my celestial spirits to keep me company!"

"About that…" Yukino started, unaware of how to proceed with the touchy subject she was about to bring up. "How are you, Lucy? I know about what happened with Aquarius and I know she was very dear to you-"

"I'm fine, Yukino," Lucy interrupted. The two girls finally neared Lucy's workplace. "Thanks for walking with me and keeping me company!" The golden-haired mage was about to enter the building when a firm hand grabbed her wrist.

"Can you come by the guild later tonight?" Yukino asked, not releasing her hold on Lucy until she answered.

"I don't know…" the girl replied. She had made it her rule not to get too close to people since Natsu and Happy had abandoned her.

"Come by later and I will never bug you about Natsu-san again."

Lucy sighed and reluctantly nodded her head. With that, she met up with Jason and went to work on a new article they had been writing about some new mage in one of the lesser important guilds.

" _I guess I'm going to Sabertooth after work,"_ she thought, mentally preparing herself for what she assumed to be a lecture.

* * *

"Oi, fly faster, Happy!" Natsu demanded as they neared their destination.

The only bit of information the two were able to get from Lucy's old landlord about the other members of Fairy Tail was in regards to Wendy. Apparently she was invited by that one pink-haired mage, whose name Natsu couldn't remember, to join Lamia Scale.

"I can't believe Wendy joined another guild!" Happy said as they landed outside of the building. "I wonder if Lucy joined another guild too!"

"Lucy would never do that! She loves Fairy Tail too much!" With that, the two were barging into the familiar guild. "OI, WENDY, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"N-Natsu-san? Happy?"

Natsu turned to face the small, blue-haired child. Her hair was tied into pigtails- her signature hairstyle.

"Wow, Wendy! You've grown quite a bit!" Natsu exclaimed as he patted the girl's head excitedly.

"Not really," the child murmured, though there was a small smile glued to her face. "Your hair has gotten really long, Natsu-san! Wait, what are you guys doing here?"

"We are here to get you!" Happy exclaimed as he plopped onto Wendy's head. "We're going to bring Fairy Tail back together!"

"Bring Fairty Tail back together? Do you know where everyone is?"

"Nope!" Natsu answered. "But we know how to destroy enough stuff to get people to notice! You comin', Wendy?"

The small child looked around nervously as she twirled one of her pigtails with her finger. "I don't know… These guys were so nice to take care of me and Charle, I would feel bad to just leave them…"

"Hush, child," a familiar voice said as a small white cat approached them. "They were aware this would happen eventually. Let's just get out of here already, Lyon keeps freezing my tail."

"Charle!" Happy cried out as he flew towards the other exceed. The only response he received from the female exceed was a wag of her tail.

With that, Wendy was saying her goodbyes and the group were on their way. None of them knew where they were going but were excited at the thought of seeing all of their friends again. It had been so long, their stomachs were bubbling with anticipation.

"What are we going to do first?" Wendy asked as she carried Charle in her arms.

"Hmm…" Natsu started as he rubbed his chin while he thought. "I got it! Let's visit other guilds and see if anyone else joined another guild!"

"Which should we start with?" Happy asked.

"Sabertooth is the closest," Charle informed everyone. "I have an idea of my own, actually. We should have the other guilds shoot off fireworks in the shape of Fairy Tail's logo to let everyone know that we are getting back together."

"Charle, you are as smart as you are beautiful! Want a fish?"

"No I don't want a fish! Hurry up!"

With that, the four were on their way to Sabertooth, Natsu complaining the entire way that they had just come from there.

* * *

Lucy's back ached as she began to walk towards Sabertooth, making her wish she could do more work from home. At least her head stopped hurting a while ago after she took some medicine. There was no medicine, however, to help her hurting heart. The mage had a good idea of what was going to happen when she got to Sabertooth. They were probably going to give her an intervention and lecture her to see her friends.

" _Either way, they aren't going to be able to convince me,"_ Lucy thought as she finally reached the guild.

"Lucy! You're here!" Yukino cried out once she saw the blonde mage enter. "Come here!"

Lucy did as she was told and walked towards the group of people waiting for her, a nervous smile plastered on her face. She should've known Sting and Rogue, along with their respective exceeds, were going to be there to nag at her too.

"Hey, guys," the girl said as she took a seat by Yukino. "Why exactly am I here again?"

"Because Natsu-san was here, duh!" Sting answered, an annoyed look on his face. "Why didn't you go to see him!? You guys are partners!"

" _Were_ partners. Fairy Tail is gone. There's no reason for me to talk to them," Lucy coldly replied. Maybe she was being a bit too harsh. "Look, no hard feelings towards them or anything, I promise. It's just that they went their way and I went mine. We are all living our own lives now."

"But Lucy, I know that you miss them," Yukino stated. "And you know Natsu-san wouldn't just sit by quietly after finding out Fairy Tail was disbanded. He's going to get the guild back together, and you should be there with him when he does."

"Why should I?" Lucy asked, keeping her gaze, which was starting to blur, locked onto the floor. "He wasn't there with me after Aquarius… _left."_ The girl still couldn't bring herself to come to terms with what happened to her dearest celestial spirit. "Instead he just left me. He could've brought me with him, you know? I would've went with them in a heartbeat. I just need time…"

"Our dragons died, Lucy," Rogue bluntly added, finally joining the conversation. "He needed some time as well."

"He still could have said goodbye! There are no excuses for that! I lost someone too, you know!"

Rogue put his hands up in surrender. Yukino stared at the other celestial mage with sympathy.

"What if he finds you?" Sting asked curiously.

"He won't. He's not smart enough to check here and he has no way of finding where I live. Can you guys please promise that if he does come here you won't tell him I live in Crocus? Please? I'm not ready…"

Sting was about to argue but was interrupted by Yukino, who had quickly covered his mouth with her hand.

"We promise," the white-haired girl declared. "Take your time, Lucy."

"You may not have as much time as you think," Rogue stated, surprising the two girls. "I can smell him. He's on his way here and he's not too far. Another person is with him as well. The short child from the Grand Magic Games."

"Wendy!?" Lucy exclaimed. She had missed the small mage so much. "W-Wait, I can't let them see me! Help me out, you guys!"

"You don't have time to leave without being caught," Sting plainly announced, not caring either way.

"Here, Lucy! Come with me!" Yukino said as she dragged her friend into a small room in the guild hall. "Sorry about this!" She then poured a bunch of different drinks on Lucy, finishing it off by pouring oil on her. Why the hell was there oil in there?

"H-Hey, Yukino!" Lucy cried out, shivering from the liquid contents covering her. "What was that for!?"

"It's so that they don't smell you. Forgive me! I'll tell you when you can come out!"

With that, the other celestial mage was gone, leaving Lucy in what she assumed was a storage closet, drenched in alcohol and oil. She would definitely have to shower when she got home.

* * *

Natsu and the others finally landed outside of the Sabertooth guild and gave Happy and Charle a few minutes to rest. It was a long flight after all. It had been over a year since any of them had seen the members of Sabertooth. They just hoped some of their friends were there as well so they can bring them back to Fairy Tail. Natsu had his hopes set on a certain golden-haired celestial mage.

"OI, STING! LET'S FIGHT!" Natsu yelled at the top of his lungs as he entered the building. Instead of being thrown into a fight, however, he found himself being tackled into a hug by the other drangonslayer.

"Natsu-san, it's been so long!" Sting exclaimed, weeping happy tears.

"Yeah, yeah. We're just here to see if any of our Fairy Tail mages are here!"

Sweat rolled down Sting's face as he gave an awkward chuckle. He never was a good liar. "S-Sorry, Natsu-san! N-Nobody's here, nope! Nobody! Not even a celest-"

Rogue came and punched Sting in the gut to get him to shut up. "Idiot," he muttered under his breath.

Wendy glanced around the room for familiar faces until her eyes locked onto a door on the opposite wall from them. A mix of strange smells were in that room and she could sense someone was in there. Someone was hiding, to be exact. She had better senses than the other dragonslayers because she could sense things in the air after all. Who could be hiding from them? The tiny girl bravely walked towards the door- Natsu too focused on his conversation with Sting to notice- and was about to open it before she was stopped by a gentle hold on her wrist. She turned her face to see Yukino, the kind celestial mage that helped Fairy Tail countless of times.

"H-Hello, Wendy," the white-haired mage greeted. "Where are you going?"

"I-I was going to see if someone was in that room," Wendy answered, embarrassed to be caught snooping around in someone else's guild. "I can feel someone hiding in there."

"What? You must be sick or something! That is just a storage closet, nobody ever goes in there! Why don't we go on back to Natsu-san?"

Wendy eyed the girl suspiciously. She was just as bad at lying as Sting was. Taking a deep breath and eating it, her eyes widened at the taste and she could barely make out who was in the closet- though she wanted to gag at the faint taste in the air of oil and alcohol.

"Lucy-"

Yukino pressed her hand against Wendy's mouth, just as she did earlier with Sting. Looking down at the tiny mage, she shook her head and wore a sad look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Wendy," she whispered, keeping her hand on the other girl's mouth, "Lucy isn't ready to see everyone yet. Please be understanding and give her some time. Don't tell anyone about this, OK?"

Wendy slowly nodded as she sadly walked away from the closet and back towards Natsu. A rush of guilt ran through her body whenever she looked at him, knowing that he wanted to find Lucy more than anyone. But she wasn't about to betray Lucy. If she wasn't ready, she would give her time. Thus, she pushed back the gnawing guilt she felt.

"I don't think anyone is here, Natsu-san," Wendy announced, taking Charle into her hands. "Why don't we go to Blue Pegasus and check there?"

Natsu ran his hand through his pink locks and sighed. "I was really hoping to find someone here. Oh well, maybe we'll have better luck with Blue Pegasus. Oh, Sting, make sure to shoot off the fireworks when I give the signal tomorrow night! See you later, guys!"

With that, the four quickly left towards their next destination, ignoring the fact that it was getting dark.

"Lucy, you can come out now," Yukino said as she opened the door. "It seems Wendy knows you are here but she's willing to keep your secret."

"I'm glad," Lucy replied. "I need to go take a shower now, so I'm going to go now! Bye!"

Lucy then ran out of the Sabertooth guild hall and onto the streets of Crocus, ignoring the strange looks she received from everyone else. Oil, alcohol, and now tears were mixing together on her skin and she wanted nothing more than to bathe it all away. Hearing Natsu's voice caused her heart to beat faster than it probably should have and sent a rush of crippling emotions throughout her body. He really was planning on bringing the guild back together. Too bad she refused to go back.

 **AN:** Sorry, but there'll be a few more chapters until Lucy and Natsu see each other! Please review anyways :D

 **Craycraynalufan:** Love the name haha! And thank you very much!

 **Switchlolly007:** Thank you so much! And yesss! I hate how Lucy just forgives Natsu so easily when he just left without saying goodbye! And I didn't wanna write anything making Lisanna the bad guy like a lot of other nalu fics (no shade meant by that!)

 **Dark Shining Light:** Thank you for the kind words! Definitely inspires me to write more!

 **:** I definitely will keep going thank you for the review!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** OMG THE NEWEST CHAPTER IN THE MANGA HAD ME CRYING, I WON'T SPOIL ANYTHING THOUGH. Does anyone know when the anime is gonna start back up btw? I really miss the show! D:

Chapter 3

"Hey, Jason," Lucy greeted as she walked into work the next morning. Her eyes were puffy once again as she spent most of the night crying.

Jason waved at the girl and shouted, "Hey, Lucy! Let's write some cool articles today! Oh, today you are going to interview the new mage that joined Quatro Cerberus! Apparently he gave a cool performance during the Grand Magic Games! I already reserved everything for you guys so go down to that one café we used to get coffee in! Make sure to ask him some cool questions!"

Lucy giggled as she replied, "You really gotta stop saying cool!"

And with that she was on her way to meet some mage she couldn't care less about. That was the one thing Lucy hated about her job. It was hard to write an interesting article when she wasn't interested herself in what she was researching. With great reluctance, she entered the café and scanned the place for the man she was interviewing. She easily found him, for he stood out like a sore thumb. He was a burly man, his muscles bulging out of his tee shirt with red tattoos covering his face. His jet-black hair was long and untamed, reminding the girl of a certain metal-eating dragon slayer.

"Hi, are you Haru?" Lucy asked with a warm smile on her face.

"Yep, that's me! Hey, aren't you that girl that was in the Great Magic Games last year? Yeah! You were with Fairy Tail!" the man exclaimed.

Lucy awkwardly chuckled and answered, "Yep! But let's talk about you!" She then proceeded to ask him questions and absentmindedly jot down his replies, though her mind was focused on something else.

" _I can't believe Natsu is trying to get Fairy Tail back together. How does he expect to find everyone? I've been looking for them and couldn't come up with anything. And who does he think he is leaving the guild without saying goodbye and then saying he's going to get us all back together! Ugh, he is so annoying!"_

When Lucy's interview with Haru finally ended, she decided to talk the longer route back to her house to enjoy the sun. On her way, she passed through one of the stands she had bought food with Natsu and Happy when they first came to Crocus.

" _It seems like so long ago. I really do miss them. Why am I being such a baby anyways? I should just go! Ugh, who am I kidding? I can't face Natsu after everything that happened."_

Pulling out one of her golden keys, she was delighted from the warmth she received as it glowed in her hand. In a simple motion, she summoned one of her most beloved spirits: Virgo.

"Hello, Princess," the spirit greeted, holding handcuffs. Lucy could only imagine what she was going to do with those.

"Hey, Virgo," Lucy said with a bright smile. "Sorry for calling you out here, I guess I was just a little lonely."

"You can punish me anytime you want, Princess. However, if you are lonely, you can always find Natsu."

"Ugh, not you too! I'll talk to him when I'm ready!"

"And when is that going to be?" a familiar voice chimed in as Lucy felt an arm being slung over her shoulder.

"Loke, I didn't call for you, you know," Lucy said with slight irritation. "And I don't know, just when I'm ready! I'll know when the time comes!"

"You need to stop being so afraid, Lucy," Loke replied, pushing his shades up. He was wearing his typical suit, as always, making Lucy wonder how we wasn't dying from the intense heat.

"I'm not scared. I'm _hurt."_

"I don't think this is just because Natsu left without saying goodbye," Virgo said as her hands fumbled with the handcuffs.

"Is this because of Aquarius?" Loke asked with a sympathetic look on his face.

Lucy always hated when people looked at her like that. It made her feel weak. "N-No! Maybe… I don't know... It's just that I lost her and nobody really knew and I needed someone to talk to about it. And Natsu is- _was-_ my best friend who just lost his dad in the battle with Tartaros too. I figured I could talk to him about it. But then he left without saying goodbye. It was just one huge loss after the other I guess… I'm not ready to see him."

Loke nodded understandingly as they finally reached the girl's house. Virgo decided to leave so as to not waste Lucy's magical power while Loke decided to stay and keep her company until she cheered up. This became a usual routine since Fairy Tail disbanded, making Lucy's bond with Loke stronger. The two played games for what seemed like forever, making Lucy feel much better.

"Ha! I win again!" Lucy shouted as she guess the last letter needed to win the game of hangman. "You suck at this, Loke!"

Loke pouted as he crossed his arms. "It's not my fault. You're a writer, you know bigger words than I do. By the way, what's your newest story you're writing about?"

Lucy jumped in excitement as she went to get her notes. "It's about this girl that meets this one guy and they go on a bunch of adventures together with a talking dog! The girl, her name is Mia, is nice and sweet, but she's also very spunky! And the boy's name is Haku and he's really destructive and kind of dumb but he cares about Mia a lot! In the end they fall in love while escaping from Mia's evil father's clutches!"

Loke raised an eyebrow and said, "You know, those characters sound an awful lot like you and Natsu. Minus the falling in love part since you and I are madly in love already."

"First of all, we are not in love! Stop saying that! Second of all, my characters are not like Natsu and I!"

"Whatever you say, Princess," Loke said as he stood up and brushed the imaginary dust off of his suit. "I gotta head back now, Lucy. I got a date soon. Don't worry though, you will always have my heart!"

"Yeah, yeah. Later, Loke!"

* * *

"Oi, Wendy! Are you ready?" Natsu asked with a wide grin on his face. His eyes were shining brightly with anticipation.

"I'm ready!" Wendy answered, returning the smile with one of her own.

"Alright! Ready, set, go!"

Natsu quickly lit a bunch of fireworks, sending them into the night sky one by one. Each spelt out "Fairy Tail" while Wendy shot off a firework showing off the infamous emblem. The pink-haired boy laughed maniacally as he shot balls of flame into the air to gather even more attention. Citizens were wary of what was going on and decided to stay indoors.

"Is everyone else shooting there's off!?" Natsu asked.

"Yes! Apparently it's getting widespread attention!"

"Good! There's no way Lucy and the others will miss this!"

* * *

Lucy was startled at the loud booms outside of her apartment. Nervously looking out her window, her jaw dropped as her eyes widened uncontrollably. Fireworks were being set off constantly, all having to do with Fairy Tail. First it spelt out the name of the guild, next was the logo, followed by a message saying "Fairy Tail is back!"

Tears streamed down Lucy's face as she breathlessly let out, "Natsu…"

He truly did surprise her. His determination almost inspired her to pack her things and get on the next train to Magnolia. _Almost_.

* * *

A week had swiftly passed by and Natsu was absolutely ecstatic. Most of the guild had seen their message and already came back or let them know they were on their way. The only people missing were Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Erza, and Makarov. But they were sure to show up soon, right? Two Fairy Tail emblem fireworks were shot into the sky from random destinations, meaning it was their reply. Though Natsu was relieved to have much of the guild back, none of his team members- besides Happy- were there yet and he was particularly impatient on seeing his partner. Not only that, but only two signals were shot into the sky as reply yet five members were not back yet, meaning that three never responded.

"Worried about Lucy?" Natsu heard a familiar voice say.

"Pssh, nah. She'll be back soon, Mira!" Natsu lied. His brain was full of doubt and he hoped that of those two replies, one of them was hers.

"What if she didn't see it? I mean you two did shoot the fireworks off pretty late."

Wendy fidgeted in her seat next to Natsu, which did not go unnoticed by the other two. "I-I'm sure she saw it!"

"What's wrong with you, Wendy? You're all shaky and stuff it's weird!" Natsu said as he inspected the child carefully.

"N-Nothing! I'm just very excited to see everyone again!"

"We are excited to see you as well, Wendy," a familiar voice said. The trio turned to face another trio.

"Erza-san!" Wendy cried out as she leapt up and hugged the older girl. She then looked at the other two and cried happy tears. "Gray-san and Juvia-san too!"

"Hello, Wendy," Juvia greeted with a warm smile as she affectionately cradled Gray's arm.

"You know you could've destroyed shit with all of those fireworks you set off, dumbass," Gray said to Natsu, receiving a nasty glare in response.

"I didn't want _you_ to see them, Ice Pick. Why don't you go back to where you came from?" Natsu replied, rolling his sleeves up to fight with the ice mage, who was also preparing himself for a fight. Erza then bashed their heads together to stop them before a fight ensued.

"So now all we are missing is Master and Lucy," Mira announced. "When they get here we are going to throw a huge party! I'm so excited!"

An imaginary lightbulb lit up as Natsu suddenly realized something. "Wait, did you three shoot off one of the signals together?"

"Yes," Erza answered as she began to munch on a piece of strawberry cake Mira prepared for her. "I found Gray and Juvia a few weeks ago and recruited them for a job I needed help with. Once we finished it, we saw fireworks being set off by Lamia Scale showing that Fairy Tail was getting back together, so we sent one back."

Natsu's eyes brightened as a wide grin took over his face. "So that means Lucy and Master could be together and sent the last signal together!"

"Not likely," Levy said as she walked towards the group. "Master was the first to leave among all of us and if I remember correctly, Lu-chan was the last. Maybe she's somewhere here in Magnolia?"

"We would know if she was here, Squirt," Gajeel said as he took his place by Levy. "We would be able to smell her if she did."

"Well maybe they met up with each other or something!" Natsu exclaimed. He was feeling irritated that Lucy wasn't there yet. She had to come sooner or later, right?

"We'll just have to wait and see," Erza said.

Though nobody said it aloud, they all knew that the two weren't together. It was just far too unlikely. Either Lucy or Makarov were not coming back, and that scared the hell out of all of them. One possibility popped into all of their minds, though nobody dared to voice it. That is, until Gajeel dumbly asked it aloud.

"You don't think one of them… _died_ do you?" the metal dragonslayer asked. Everyone was thinking it, so why not just come right out and say it?

"N-No, that's not possible," Gray said, now shirtless and unbuttoning his pants. "They are both strong mages!"

"Yes! Juvia agrees!" the water mage announced, though she would be lying if she said the possibility didn't cross her mind.

"If they don't show up by tomorrow night we are sending another signal," Natsu said as he made his way towards the door. He couldn't handle being in the guild without Lucy. It didn't feel right without her.

Thus, the grumpy dragonslayer made his way back to his own home.

" _Where are you, Luce?"_

 **AN:** Sorry if things went by really easily/quickly with getting everyone else back in Fairy Tail! It's just that I want it to be all about Lucy coming back so I gotta get a start on that! Btw, stick around for chapter 7, it's my favorite so far! Please leave a review as always :)

 **Guest:** Thank you! And I don't know, there hasn't been many instances telling us otherwise in the manga, which sucks! She shouldn't have forgiven them that quickly in my opinion!

 **Kaylacutiepop:** Thank you for the review :D

 **Guest:** If you are talking about Lucy, then yes! XD But it's OK, she just needs some time! :)

 **Satisfied Reader:** Thank you! And I will most definitely continue :)

 **Bored-outa-my-mind97:** Oh yes, he will definitely be suffering a little longer ;) Thanks for the review!

 **ChisatoHachirobei:** Thank you so much! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** I'm really liking this story so far! Once I finish this one I plan on writing an AU story with Lucy and Natsu in high schoo. :) That is the story I originally wanted to write but I make it a rule to write a story not in AU before trying a new OTP. Idk why haha! Anyways please enjoy!

Chapter 4

It was yet again a bright, sunny day in Crocus. Everyone seemed to be talking about the same thing: Fairy Tail. Their revival was already on the news and was being discussed by absolutely everyone. How could they not talk about it? One of the loudest, most destructive guilds in the nation- that has saved them countless of times- was getting back together. Hearing everyone talk about it made Lucy want to cower in a corner in her room and never leave.

Every day she was being bombarded with questions, people wondering why she wasn't back in Magnolia yet. And every day she had to answer that she liked her life now. Why did it matter anyways? Everyone was always more interested in people like Natsu, Gray, or Erza, not her. In fact, a lot of people saw her as weak since the Grand Magic Games. Hell, Lucy began to think the same thing, especially after losing her first spirit.

"Are you having a cool morning, Lucy?" Jason greeted as the busty blonde entered the room.

"Ehh, I've had better," the girl honestly answered. "If you bring up Fairy Tail at all today I'm going to kill you."

"How mean! Can I at least say one thing?"

Lucy sighed. Jason was her boss after all. "Fine. _One."_

"Cool! It seems like you and Makarov are the only ones not back yet. Everyone else is already there just waiting."

Lucy's eyes widened as she asked, "Master isn't there? Why am I surprised? He was the one to disband the guild in the first place."

"That's weird," Jason started, "people don't typically call other people 'Master' unless they are in a guild or something! And they also don't typically have bright pink emblems on their hands if they aren't in a guild!"

"Ugh, shut up, Jason!"

With that, the celestial mage began her long shift of work. She was finishing her article on her interview with Haru, trying her best to make it sound interesting to draw in readers. She couldn't blame them if they weren't interested though. Haru was just any other mage in the continent. Nobody could compare to a Fairy Tail mage after all. Nonetheless, she finished it up, fixing a few grammar errors and adding some sentences to spice it up. Finally finishing, she submitted it to Jason and let him do the rest.

"Hey, Lucy!" Jason exclaimed as their shifts finally came to an end. "Let's go get some dessert!"

"Only if you are paying!" Lucy replied, getting her stuff ready to go.

What? Being a journalist was hard work that wasn't paid as well. The girl needed to be as cheap as she could to make it. The two quickly arrived at a small snow cone stand a couple of blocks away from Lucy's apartment. Jason promptly paid for the two cones, which were infused with magic to make it change colors. Taking a seat on one of the benches in front of a magnificent fountain shooting water feet into the night sky, the two munched on the flavored ice in delight, excitedly pointing out whenever their cones changed colors.

"Alright, Jason," Lucy started after she finished her snow cone, "you can go ahead and start your lecture now. Tell me all about how terrible I am for not going back or even talking to them."

The blonde boy next to her calmly replied, "You aren't terrible for not talking to them. I was only trying to get you to go because I know it would make _you_ feel better, not them. You are a cool girl, Lucy. We've gotten pretty close during the past what? Year and a half?" A faint shade of pink spread across the boy's face as he continued. "Really close, actually. Which is why I can say that… I love you, Lucy Heartfilia, and I want to be with you!"

Lucy nearly fell off of the bench in surprise. This wasn't happening. There was no way this was happening! She had been so careful not to get too close to anyone! Though she knew that she was a little closer to her boss than others.

"J-Jason," the girl started as she awkwardly fumbled with the hem of her skirt. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Don't be," Jason replied as he smiled gently at her. "It's cool, I promise. I was expecting this, I just had to let you know before you left."

"Before I left?"

"I know where your heart is, Lucy. It's back in Magnolia where Natsu and the others are waiting. You belong in Fairy Tail. You'll figure that out eventually, I just had to let you know before then. Anyways, let's go home now! It's starting to get a little chilly!"

With that, the two were on their way to Lucy's apartment. Luckily, the awkwardness Lucy felt quickly disappeared as Jason told many of his stories of when he interviewed crazy mages throughout Fiore. She had to admit, they were pretty close friends. But her friend was right, her heart was set on her friends at Fairy Tail, not on any romantic relationships in Crocus. But instead of going to Magnolia like Jason advised, the girl instead decided she was going to force her heart to move on.

Lucy plopped into bed with a sigh. She had been asked out that night. While the girl was no stranger to being asked out, it still made her feel a foreign feeling at the thought of someone wanting to be with her. She never had those feelings with anyone before and she wondered what they were like. The celestial mage was hopeless. Sure, she could write novels of two people falling in love but could never even fathom herself falling in love. Running a hand through her golden locks of hair, the girl desperately imagined what it would be like. A certain pink-haired boy popped into her mind, causing her to jolt up into a sitting position.

" _Why the hell am I thinking about Natsu!?"_ she thought as she lightly tapped her face in an effort to fully wake herself up. " _Gosh it's like I'm becoming Mira or something!"_

Feeling more and more tired as each second ticked away, Lucy let herself succumb to slumber. And for the first time in a while, she didn't cry herself to sleep. Maybe she was moving on.

"That's it, we are giving another signal!" Natsu cried out, gaining the attention of his equally worried guild mates.

"Natsu, be patient," Erza instructed, though she too was worried at her friend and master's absences. "The magic council already told us not to do another stunt like that or else they'll disband us again. Do you want that to happen?"

"No…" Natsu grumpily answered, smoke seeping through his clenched mouth.

"Then be patient."

The guild awkwardly stayed still in complete silence, not making a single movement or sound, afraid that if they did Natsu would burn them to a crisp. They hoped Lucy would come back soon so that the grouchy pink-headed boy would calm down.

"Wait I see someone outside!" Lisanna shouted, making everyone look as well.

Natsu nearly burst with excitement as he expected his partner to walk through the door. To his disappointment, it was none other than their beloved master. Sure he wanted Makarov back, but the boy _needed_ Lucy. This was it. There were no other signals. Lucy never replied. Negative questions circled in his mind while the rest of the guild cheered for their master's return.

"My children," the short, older man started as tears gathered in his eyes, "it is good to see you all again."

"Not all of us are here yet," Natsu added rather sharply.

Makarov glanced around the room and he quickly made the connection. "I see Lucy is not here. I wonder what she is up to."

"If you didn't disband the guild out of nowhere she would be sitting here!"

That was it. Natsu was at his breaking point. His best friend and partner was gone and he had no idea where she was. What if she was kidnapped? What if she was _killed?_ Or what if she saw the signals and ignored them, forgetting completely about the time they spent together? The endless possibilities were too much to handle.

"Natsu!" Erza shouted, gaining his attention. "Do not speak to Master like that! He had his reasons! You have no room to talk when you weren't even there when he announced we were disbanding!"

"But Erza-"

"No buts!" Erza's face then turned into one of sympathy. "We _will_ find Lucy and bring her back, I promise."

Natsu reluctantly nodded as he turned to face Makarov. "Sorry, Gramps… I guess I just lose control without Lucy yelling at me and stuff."

"It is fine, child," Makarov replied. "I bet you are all wondering why I disbanded Fairy Tail. It was a selfish reason, I understand that now. I just couldn't bear to see any of you getting hurt anymore. You are all my brats. I was hoping you would all get practical jobs or something and stay safe. How foolish I was thinking you would all be smart enough to do that. Alright, tomorrow we set out on a guild-wide job to search for Lucy. She is our comrade and Fairy Tail is not complete without her. Meet here tomorrow at exactly 8 o'clock, got it brats?"

Everyone cheered in delight as they were excited to retrieve their last missing member. Natsu cheered along, glad that he was finally going to find her. He had no idea how they were going to do it, but they were going to find Lucy no matter what. He was finally going to see her again after a year and a half.

" _Get ready, Luce! I'm coming to get you!"_

Fairy Tail members tiredly gathered outside of the guild hall, waiting for Makarov to arrive. Despite how tired they were, they were going to give their all to find Lucy and bring her back. Finally, the old man approached the huge group of people with a determined look on his face.

"You have a plan, right?" Gray asked while trying to release himself from Juvia's hold on him.

"Of course I have a plan, brat," Makarov answered. "Everyone listen up. I've recruited our ally guilds to help us search for Lucy and everyone has agreed except for Sabertooth. I guess they are busy or something, who knows. Anyways, Mira! You contact that one annoying reporter, Jason. You said you saw her pin-up pictures in one of his articles right? Perhaps she is still working for him… And try to get me one of those pictures by the way…"

Mira promptly punched the older man in the head for asking for the skimpy pictures. "I don't think she works with him anymore," she said afterwards. "Those pictures came out soon after we disbanded and I haven't seen one since."

"Nonetheless it is still a start. Even if she did quit he might know where she went afterwards. Levy! Try to see if Lucy has released any works of her own that we could trace back to her."

The petite blue-haired girl frowned and replied, "Most authors use pennames just so that things can't be traced back to them. Lu-chan is probably using one too."

"Well see if you can find something either under Lucy or under a penname that could possibly be her."

"Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza! All of you will stick together! You guys and Lucy are a team, so you should all find her together! As for everyone else, divide and conquer over Fiore! Are you all ready?"

The crowd shouted in reply.

"Go!" Makarov shouted. Everyone went in their own directions, some going in small groups while others went by themselves.

Natsu and the others ran as fast as they could, not knowing where they were going but were filled with bursts of determination. They _will_ find Lucy, just as Erza promised. Little did they know they would soon find her sooner than expected.

 **AN:** Ooh, how exciting! Everyone is back except for Lucy and they are all trying to find her! Will they find her in the next chapter? Who knows? :D

 **Guest:** Well, now you know the answer to your question haha! :D I was thinking of having her get rid of her emblem but just thinking of her character I imagined that she wouldn't be able to do it so that is the one thing she kept from Fairy Tail! Thank you for the review! :)

 **Switchlolly007:** Hello again! :D and I know right!? I will never be able to accept that she forgave Natsu so quickly and the fact that nobody knows the sacrifice she went through to save them all! Thank you for another amazing review :D

 **Alexa:** Thank you! Hope it wasn't too much of a wait! :)

 **Mavis Chase:** WASN'T IT SO SAD!? OMG MY HEART WAS BROKEN AFTER THAT CHAPTER. THEY BETTER DO SOME RANDOM PLOT TWIST AND FIX THAT! And thank you :D

 **Kyouya Sata:** Wow, you know what, I have no idea! For some reason when I read nalu fics it just made me think that he did call her Luce, it sounded right to me! But when I looked it up, everyone said he never did! That's so weird! I really thought he did!

 **Chisato Hachirobei:** Wow thank you for another amazing review! :D I will definitely keep updating!

 **Oby Abel:** Thank you so much! I always get worried about my writing style because I never actually had real practice in this kind of stuff! I'm glad you enjoyed! :D Thanks for reviewing! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** I am finally done with my first year of college and I can finally relax! :D Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 5

"Oi, Gray! You are too slow! We'll never find her if you keep dragging your icy ass!" Natsu exclaimed as he ran.

"I'm ahead of you, idiot!" Gray shot back, already having lost his shirt so early in the day.

"Both of you shut up or else I am sending you home," Erza said with complete seriousness. She gave off a deadly and threatening aura.

"A-Aye, sir!"

The four of them had been running for what seemed like forever. They had no destination in mind until Erza finally came up with a plan.

"I have an idea," she started as they neared the train station. "Since Sabertooth can't help us look around Crocus and the small towns surrounding it, we'll start there. Maybe Princess Hisui has an idea of where Lucy is considering she is a celestial mage as well. Perhaps they are connected or something through their magic."

"I don't think that's likely but what the hell," Gray said, unbuttoning his pants before being slapped by the red-headed mage.

"Wait, why are we heading towards the train station?" Natsu asked, his face turning green and his tone letting them know he knew the answer to his question.

"It is the quickest way to get to Crocus," Erza answered.

"Not if I fly with Happy!"

"Master told us to stick together and that is what we are doing!"

Erza then decked Natsu square in the face to get him to shut up, effectively knocking him out in the process. She ignored the looks strangers were giving her as she dragged the unconscious boy onto the train. It was much easier to get him on unconscious anyways. With that, the four were on their way towards Crocus, the regal city full of good and bad memories.

Natsu woke up just in time as the train came to a stop somewhere in Crocus. He quickly got off the bus and collapsed onto the ground, practically kissing the ground in content. The four then found a small café to eat in while Erza pulled out a communication lacrima. Connecting it to Mira's, they were instantly met with the white-haired mage herself along with Makarov and Levy.

"Hi, guys!" Mira greeted. "Are you guys in Crocus?"

"Yeah," Erza answered, "we figured that if Sabertooth couldn't help us then we would check ourselves. We just got here."

"It's a good thing you guys have such great intuitions! Jason hasn't picked up any of my calls, which is strange because he _always_ picks up. I think he knows something. He works in Crocus somewhere, you just have to find him!"

"I can do that for you right now!" Levy announced as she skimmed through some articles from the eccentric journalist. "By the way, I haven't found anything from Lucy or a possible penname, so I think that is a dead end. Here it is! OK, Jason works a couple of blocks away from Sabertooth in some building named 'Cool Publishing.' Can't miss it!"

"Thanks, Levy!" Natsu said with a wide grin. His heart was becoming more and more relieved as they got closer to finding Lucy.

With that, they ended the call on the communication lacrima and were on their way to finding a strange blonde guy that overused the word "cool." Levy was right, it was pretty much impossible to miss the building when there was a huge lit up sign that said "Cool Publishing." Did he really name his business that? Natsu barged into the place, practically oozing fire with each step.

"Oi, Jason! Where are you!?" he screamed, effectively scaring everyone else in the room.

Erza punched him upside the head as she shouted, "Idiot! There are other people here, do not disturb them while they are working! Anyways…" The girl cleared her throat and then yelled, "JASON COME HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Natsu, Happy, Gray, and everyone else in the room covered their ears as their bodies shuddered from the volume of Erza's voice.

"Didn't she just tell me to be quiet?" Natsu asked absentmindedly.

"Yep," Gray answered.

"Oh, cool! Fairy Tail members coming to see me in the flesh!" the group heard. Jason walked towards them with a notebook in his hands. "Are you guys here for an interview or something? Cool!"

"Shut it with the word 'cool' already!" Natsu exclaimed. "Does Lucy work here?"

"Lucy?"

"Yeah the blonde one with the big boobs. She used to model here."

"Nope! She doesn't work here anymore!"

Natsu could hear Jason's heartbeat getting louder and could faintly see sweat rolling down his face. It was clear he was either lying or hiding something.

"You know," the pink-haired mage started, "it's impossible to lie to a dragonslayer." The boy then let out a breath of fire to get his point across.

"W-Wait, let's be cool about this! OK _yes_ she works here, but she is out on a long journey to write her own article about the country Alverez. She won't be back for a long-"

"Stop lying!" Natsu yelled as he grabbed Jason's collar. He was about to punch the guy but was quickly pulled away by Erza.

"Is it alright if we stay here until she comes back?" the requip mage asked, taking a seat before Jason could answer.

Jason had no choice but hope they would leave before Lucy's shift started. " _Thank God she has a late shift today."_

Hours passed and there was still no sign of Lucy. It made the group wonder what exactly she was doing, and then the sad truth dawned upon them. Cool Publishing had already released articles of Fairy Tails revival that had streamed all the way to Magnolia, meaning that Lucy knew they were getting back together and _chose_ not to come back. How were they going to get her back when she actually wanted to stay in Crocus?

"M-Maybe she's just packing everything still," Gray said, trying to cheer everyone up. I mean, it was a possibility, though not likely.

"She would've contacted us if that was the case," Erza sadly replied, keeping her hands folded in her lap.

"She should've contacted us either way," Natsu hissed. How the hell could Lucy just ignore all of them like that? Like they were nothing? Finally, the boy caught a familiar scent and he whipped his head towards the door. "It's Lucy! I can smell her!" He was about to run towards her when Erza pulled him back into his seat.

"We will wait here," she demanded with a deadly glint in her eye. "We can't annoy her or else she'll never come back. Stay here and be calm. Do not get angry at her."

"How can I not get angry!? She's choosing to stay in this dump instead of coming back to Fairy Tail where she belongs with her _family!"_

"I'm sure she has her reasons."

With that, they waited for Lucy to arrive in the terribly awkward room. Finally, they could hear footsteps approaching them and the look on Natsu's face told them it was no doubt Lucy. As expected, the busty blonde entered the room with a bright smile on her face, not seeing her old friends at first as they were in the corner that she never needed to look at before.

"Jason!" Lucy greeted as she put her things down on her desk. "Is it just me or is it really hot today? Oh that's weird, now it's cold! It feels like… _death_ in here. And why do I smell fish?" Noticing the worried look on her boss' face, she followed the direction his finger pointed in until her eyes landed on a group of people she hoped she wouldn't see anytime soon and she let out a shriek. "W-What are you guys doing here!?"

"We could be asking you the same thing," Natsu hissed back with an angry glare, only to be harshly nudged by the red-head next to him.

"It's good to see you again, Lucy," Erza said with a small smile though it was obviously fake.

"L-Lucy," Jason started as he stood by the girl, "do you want me to call security on them?"

Natsu was about to burst into flames at the journalist's remarks before he saw Lucy shake her head.

"Sorry, Jason. I'm going to have to take a day off…"

With that, Lucy led the way to her apartment, insanely aware of the people staring at her. The girl was proud of herself, however. She managed to fight back tears and keep a steady voice, even after looking Natsu in the eyes. She didn't even let her anger towards the boy take control of her, which surprised the girl. The walk was silent and terribly awkward, making Lucy relieved when they approached her apartment complex.

"W-Well guys, this is my new home," she awkwardly said as she stepped inside.

Gray cleared his throat and replied, "Nice place. Bigger than your old apartment."

"I like your other one better," Natsu announced, keeping his gaze locked onto Lucy, trying to trap her into eye contact. "Why the hell aren't you back in Fairy Tail, Lucy? You know we are back together."

Lucy stared into Natsu's eyes, tears threatening to fall once again. Just as she predicted, it was too hard being around him right now. Part of her wanted to summon Loke to help calm her nerves. Her body began to tremble as she fumbled with the hem of her tank top. Erza noticed the girl's nervousness right away and saved the day.

"Natsu," she started, pulling out a sharp sword, "you, Gray and Happy need to leave for a moment. I will talk to Lucy."

"What!? No way!"

A sword was then mere inches from Natsu's neck, gleaming at the boy dangerously. "Natsu, I will give you alone time with her, but first I need to discuss something very important with Lucy. So _leave."_ The way she said the last word scared the boys in the room. "And go far enough so that you cannot hear, do you understand?"

"Fine," the grouchy dragonslayer muttered, "you get an hour." He then gave Lucy one last glare before following Gray and Happy, slamming the door on the way out.

"I'm sorry about Natsu," Erza calmly said after putting away her sword. "He's just been really excited to see you again, we all have."

With that, Lucy broke into a fit of tears, sobbing uncontrollably after tackling her dear friend into a hug. Everything was too much to take in; Natsu's angry glares, Ezra's kind words, her friends actually finding her. It was too much.

"I missed you too," the girl finally said, sniffing cutely. "I'm sorry, I just can't come back, Erza."

"Why not?"

"I-I can't be around Natsu without breaking down. Hell, even thinking about him makes me cry."

"...Can I ask why Natsu? He was your best friend, what happened?"

Lucy attempted to wipe away her tears though her efforts were futile as crystalline tears continued to stream down her face. "I thought he was my best friend, but he just left without saying goodbye!"

"Lucy," Erza started, stroking the blonde mage's hair, "his father died, I'm sure he just needed some time alone."

Something within the celestial mage snapped and she became furious. "I'm tired of hearing that as an excuse! He still could've said goodbye! When my dad died I wanted to be alone but I still went on jobs with them because I didn't want to leave them alone! And he's not the only one that lost someone! Gajeel and Wendy's dragons died but they didn't leave! And I lost somone too…"

Erza's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to recall someone else that passed away in the battle with Tartaros. Perhaps she was close to one of the civilians that died from the Bane particles.

Lucy ignored Erza's silence and continued, "I wanted to talk to Natsu because he lost someone too, but all that was waiting for me was a pathetic note with like ten words." She then pulled out part of a gold, broken key and Erza's eyes widened as she recognized the symbol on it. "…I wanted him to comfort me… She's gone, Erza…"

With that, the girl broke into an even worse fit of tears, it was almost as if she was screaming. Erza continued to hold her friend, rocking back and forth in an attempt to soothe Lucy. Eventually, she did calm down, though she was left hiccupping due to all of the crying.

"Lucy," Erza started with a sympathetic look on her face, "I am truly sorry about Aquarius. Just know that you can talk to me about it whenever you feel comfortable doing so. I can understand your anger with Natsu for not saying goodbye. However, everyone handles loss in their own way, try to be more understanding of his actions. I'm not telling you to forgive him, I am simply urging you to try understanding him. Also, the way you are going about this is both foolish and selfish. Natsu isn't the only one that cares about you in Fairy Tail. We are your family, Lucy. Not saying hello to us during our revival was just as bad as Natsu not saying goodbye. We were worried sick about you."

Lucy fought the urge to cry again as she nodded. Erza was right. She should've contacted them at least, even if she wasn't planning on coming back to Magnolia.

"I'm sorry, Erza," she said, feeling pathetic with herself.

"I forgave you long ago," the requip mage replied with a gentle smile as she wiped away the last of Lucy's tears. The red-head then let out a sigh. "It's not me you should be worried about. Natsu and the others should be arriving any minute now. Are you ready to face him?"

Lucy swallowed loudly, noticing in that instant that her throat was terribly dry. Nodding her head, she answered with fierce determination, "I am."

 **AN:** Sorry the chapter is a little short! And I'm sure that you are all disappointed Lucy and Natsu weren't the ones to talk first after finally seeing each other, but they both needed time to calm down! :) Next chapter for sure, so stick around! :D

 **Alexa:** Thanks for another sweet review! :D

 **Raepan2010:** I know exactly what you mean! Like sure, they showed a hint of her anger when she was explaining that Fairy Tail disbanded but that was so not enough! And while that idea certainly sounds amusing, I can really only picture her being mad at Natsu and not the whole team! Thanks for the review! :D

 **J.C:** Thank you so much! And I don't think I'm that good at writing tbh, I think I just have good ideas! And believe me, it certainly took a lot of practice to get to this point! I re-read my first fanfic the other day and was dying from laughter because of how terrible it was haha! If you ever write a story, just know that I would be more than willing to check it out and encourage you with some nice reviews :)

 **Guest:** Haha so sweet! Thanks for the review and I hope I didn't keep you waiting that long!

 **Court818:** Well, now you know! :D Thanks for the review :)

 **Mavis Chase:** I actually don't read manga besides Fairy Tail! I was told to watch the anime but I never got around to it! Maybe I should this summer! :D

 **Dark Shining Light:** No it will not be easy ;) Thanks for the review!

 **Kyouya Sata:** I always reply to everyone :D And doesn't it!? I can't believe it's not a canon thing!


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** The moment you've all been waiting for is here! Lucy and Natsu finally talk to each other! Hope I meet your expectations :)

Chapter 6

Just as Erza predicted, the boys came back soon after Lucy's crying fest. Natsu stood near the door, never taking his eyes off of her while Gray awkwardly shuffled towards the couch. At least the ice mage wasn't too upset with her. Lucy's gaze then fell downward to look at Happy. He stood by Natsu with his tail limp on the floor. She could tell he was upset. Lucy quickly walked to her fridge, ignoring the curious- and one angry- pair of eyes locked on her as she pulled out a fresh salmon she was going to cook for dinner. The girl then knelt in front of the blue cat, offering him the fish to hopefully cheer him up. Happy gave her a very small smile in response and accepted the fish, then looked up towards Natsu to see his own reaction. His smile disappeared after seeing his partner's anger evident on his face still.

Erza saved the day once again by saying, "C'mon, Gray. Let's leave these three to talk for a little bit."

The ice mage frowned and replied, "Oi! Why don't I get to talk to her? I missed her too, you know!"

The red-head then grabbed Gray by the collar and began to drag him after her. Before she left, however, she glared at Natsu and warned, "Watch what you say." With that said, she closed the door and left with Gray, leaving the three best friends- or _former_ best friends- standing awkwardly in silence.

"H-Hi, Happy," Lucy started with a tense smile on her face. Her determination to talk to Natsu from before practically dissolved into nothing but fear once again. "Do you like the salmon?"

"A-Aye…" the blue cat replied.

Lucy walked towards her couch and plopped onto it with a sigh. This kind of stress was not good for her. "Natsu," she quietly started, keeping her eyes glued onto her lap, "are we going to talk now?"

"Sure," the boy replied, his arms crossed and a scowl plastered on his face. "Why don't you start with why you betrayed Fairy Tail?"

Lucy's jaw dropped and her anger began to bubble inside of her. "I didn't betray Fairy Tail! I moved on! If anything, _you_ betrayed _me!"_

"What the hell are you talking about!?"

"Oh, I don't know," the celestial mage answered sarcastically. "Maybe the fact that you just left me without saying goodbye!"

"Hey! We left a note!"

"Not even a good note! It was like two sentences with no emotion or anything! And you think a note is enough? I thought we were friends!"

"We are!"

"No, we _were,"_ Lucy corrected, venom lacing her words. "You think you can just leave me for over a year without saying goodbye and just come and get me when _you_ are ready? I don't think so!" The girl then felt something plop against her lap. Looking down she saw it was Happy snuggling in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, Lucy! Can I still be your friend?" the blue cat asked, tears streaming down his face as he dug his claws into her tank top.

Lucy smiled gently at the exceed and stroked his fur. "Yeah, Happy. You can still be my friend."

"Oi, Happy left too, you know!" Natsu exclaimed, fire making its way out of his mouth. "Why do you forgive him and not me?"

Lucy glared at the dragonslayer icily and answered, "Happy apologized, you just came here accusing me! And I know Happy just went along because _you_ suggested it."

Natsu huffed in reply. He could no longer look her in the eyes. Maybe he should have said goodbye in person after all.

"Alright, I'm sorry, Luce," he finally said, taking a seat next to her on the couch. "I guess I should've done it in person." His tone then became more serious as he continued, "After Igneel died I wasn't sure on how to face everyone. I mean, it happened in front of everyone, I guess I didn't want everyone to look at me different."

Lucy stared sympathetically at her old friend. She recalled her conversation with Erza and sighed. She was right in the end, people handle loss differently. "I'm sorry about Igneel."

Natsu chuckled and replied, "See, it's that face! I didn't wanna see people pitying me like that! Or telling me they're sorry or something."

"Well, it's better than having to deal with a loss that nobody knows about all by yourself," the girl muttered, hugging Happy tightly.

"Lucy?" the cat worriedly said.

The celestial mage then placed Happy on the couch and stood up. Raising her arms above her head, she stretched her achy body in content. She did it. She talked to Natsu. Lucy then smiled at the two boys on her couch, who were looking at her suspiciously after her last comment.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," Lucy said, continuing to smile. "It's good to see you guys again. I heard you've been destroying stuff lately, idiot."

"Lucy," Natsu started seriously, "did something happen during the battle with Tartaros?"

"Nope!"

"Lucy-"

"Natsu," the girl interrupted, her smile still on her face. "Don't worry about it. Besides, you and I still aren't friends! I still haven't forgiven you!"

Natsu smiled at the girl and quickly lunged towards her, wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. "I guess I'll just have to make you forgive me! It's good to see you too, Luce!"

Happy put his paws over his mouth and said, "He liiiikes you!"

Lucy couldn't fight back the urge to laugh. It was just like old times, when things were much simpler and happier. Tears streamed down her face, both happy and sad. She was sure they were never going to see each other again, but here they were, hugging and laughing.

"Stop crying, Luce!" Natsu said as he wiped away the few tears that had escaped her eyes. "Gosh, you are such a baby!"

"Am not!" Lucy replied, playfully hitting him on the arm. It truly was like old times.

"I see you two have made up," Erza said as she entered the apartment followed by Gray.

"Yep!" Natsu exclaimed before Lucy had the chance to say anything. "Now let's get packing so that we can hurry up and go back to Fairy Tail! Crocus is too fancy for me."

"A-About that," Lucy started, staring at the floor, "I'm still not going back…"

Before Natsu could say anything, Erza punched him in the gut, causing him to pass out. Gray picked the poor dragonslayer up with a sigh.

"That is your choice," Erza stated with a warm smile. "Would it be alright if we came to visit every once in a while?"

"Yeah, since you and I didn't get a chance to talk," Gray added. Where did his pants go?

"Of course!" Lucy brightly answered. Feeling something run into her chest, she looked down to find Happy crying as he hugged her.

"I'm going to miss you, Lucy!" the cat cried out, wiping his tears on her tank top. "And so is Natsu! He's probably going to come back every day to convince you to come back!"

"I figured as much."

Soon after, the four other mages left, making the apartment much less cramped. Lucy sighed and plopped onto her bed. It had been a long day, one full of surprises and tears. Regardless, the girl was glad it happened. The guilt that was stored in her heart for not contacting any of them was now gone. She had told the truth and stuck with her decision. Not only that, but she was able to see her dear friends after so much time had passed, though she never got to talk to Gray. The blonde then began to think of her other friends in Fairy Tail.

" _I wonder if Levy made any progress with Gajeel since the two left together. Oh, I wonder if Cana went with Gildarts. Probably not, considering he's like impossible to find. I hope Mira is doing alright. Who am I kidding, she's probably ecstatic now that she has all of these couples to ship together! Maybe I should take time off of work and visit them soon… Just a visit of course!"_

With that, Lucy dozed off into a well-needed nap.

* * *

"So Lucy is not coming back, huh?" Makarov questioned once everyone was back in the guild hall. He glanced at Natsu, who was slouching grumpily by the bar. "That is alright. She can make her own decisions. I just hope you brats made it clear she can come back whenever she wants."

"Oh she'll know," Natsu said while playing with a ball of fire in his hand. "I'm going to go back there every day until she decides to come back."

"If anything that would make her glad she chose to stay in Crocus," Gray remarked with a proud smirk.

"What did you just say!?"

"BE QUIET!" Erza shouted, causing the two boys to cower in a corner far from her. "Natsu if you do anything to ruin our chances of getting her back I will kill you."

"Yeah, yeah," Natsu huffed as he began to walk out of the guild hall. "I ain't coming back until I got Lucy! Let's go pack, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" the blue cat exclaimed as he flew towards his partner. They were going to get Lucy back no matter what. After all, the three musketeers of Fairy Tail isn't complete without her.

As soon as Natsu and Happy arrived at their small home, they immediately went to work on packing. Happy packed his small knapsack full of raw fish while Natsu filled his with a variety of things such as clothes, his toothbrush, and money. They didn't know how long they were going to be in Crocus so they packed what hopefully would be enough for a week.

"Do you think Lucy will let us stay with her?" Happy asked, nibbling on another fish.

Natsu grinned as he answered, "Of course she will! It's Lucy! There's no way she'll turn us away! We used to crash at her place at the time!"

"Hey, Natsu… We should've brought her with us."

"Yeah, I know that now. Well, there's no going back now! Let's go, Happy! I'm sure she's asleep by now!"

"Aye!"

* * *

Lucy shuffled in bed, trying to get comfortable again so as to not have to wake up. Flipping over to face the opposite direction, she felt a warmth travel over her backside. Scooching closer to it, the girl snuggled against a soft object- most likely a stuffed animal- and purred with delight. She hadn't slept this well since she moved to Crocus.

" _Ahh the heater must be on,"_ Lucy absentmindedly thought, enjoying the warmth and comfort. " _Wait, heater? I don't have a heater."_

The girl's eyes shot open as she heard quiet snores coming from behind her.

" _Don't tell me it's who I think it is…"_

Slowly turning to face the culprit, Lucy mentally face-palmed. Irritation coursed through her body, bringing back countless memories from her life in Magnolia. Instead of yelling like she would typically do, Lucy stared at the sleeping boy in front of her. His pink locks of hair were much longer now and he was a bit tanner than before. Though the girl didn't know what it was yet, something about him made him look older as well.

" _Yet something about him is still childish,"_ she thought, smiling with pleasure. " _I'll admit, he's kinda cute when he's sleeping and not destroying everything."_

The blonde mage then looked around on the bed to find his partner in crime. Finally, she found the blue cat sleeping above their heads on the pillow, purring with each snore. Lucy bit back a giggle at the two being so at peace. Then a mischievous grin masked the girl's face as she ever so carefully got out of bed, making sure not to wake the two up. Grabbing a black marker from her desk, she began to go to work on Happy first.

" _It's my turn to draw on their faces while they're asleep!"_ she thought as she stifled her laughter.

Drawing a circle around one of the cat's eyes, Lucy then drew a curly mustache underneath his nose. Adding some random swirls, she completed her design and grinned at her masterpiece. The girl then snapped a picture so that she could show Charle next time she saw her.

Next was Natsu. Lucy carefully lifted her arm so that the marker was just above his sleeping face. Moving it closer ever so slowly, she was about to draw a crude picture using his face as a canvas. Just millimeters from his face, Lucy was startled when a hand grabbed her wrist as Natsu's eyes shot open. He pulled her closer to him and she lost her balance, landing on top of the boy.

"Gotcha, Luce!" Natsu said with a wide smile and bright eyes.

Their faces were in such close proximities, Lucy could feel his breath on her face. A warm feeling erupted in the pit of her stomach and made its way to her face. Her face quickly began to resemble a tomato with how red it became.

"N-Natsu!" she gasped once she gained mild control over the weird feelings in her stomach. "What are you doing!?"

"I should be asking you that question!"

Lucy stared into Natsu's eyes, her breath becoming hitched as she was drowning in them. The warmth in her stomach refused to go away. "I was going to draw on your face while you slept! How did you know!?"

"I'm a dragonslayer, Luce! I woke up the moment I heard you move when you moved closer to me!" Natsu then smirked at the girl.

"T-That's because you were warm and I thought you were a stuffed animal!"

"Whatever you say, Luce!"

Lucy stuck her tongue out at the boy as she strode into her bathroom. Shutting the door, the girl looked at herself in the mirror and noticed the blush that was spread across her face. Placing her hand over her chest, she realized how rapidly her heart was beating. The feeling of butterflies swarming around in her stomach was still apparent.

" _What the hell is happening to me?"_

 **AN:** I know this might be moving too quickly for you guys, especially since she forgave him easily! But at least she isn't going back to Fairy Tail yet! See, I don't want this story to be too long, so I gotta get a move on with it! I hope there was enough drama and cuteness towards the end for all of you! Thanks for reading :)

 **Snakeboy33:** Oh I completely agree with you that his was different than Gajeel's and Wendy's and that he probably figured she would be at the guild! But I still think he could've at least said goodbye haha! I think he just handles loss differently! Thanks for the review :)

 **Switchlolly007:** Hello again! :D That is so true! She actually had to break the key just to be left all alone afterwards! D': So sad!

 **MirrorFlame:** Thank you! :) Hope I didn't make you wait too long!

 **Alexa:** Thank you for the continuous reviews! :D

 **Court818:** Thank you! :D Hope this chapter lived up to your expectations :)

 **12Rayne:** Oh thank goodness I was scared people weren't going to like the fact that I didn't have those two talk first haha! Thanks for the review :)

 **Thebooknerdgeek:** Thank you so much! I think Aquarius' death being pushed away is one of the most irritating things about Fairy Tail honestly! Like it was one of the saddest moments for Lucy and NOBODY seems to know about the sacrifice it took to save them!

 **Sama775:** Hahaha isn't it funny that they're worried and she's just chilling in Crocus!

 **J.C:** I actually really love cliff hangers haha! Thanks for the review again :D

 **Guest:** Don't worry, Natsu will definitely find out! Thanks for the review :)


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** I actually really like this chapter so I hope you guys enjoy too! Please review! :D

Chapter 7

"Good morning, Lucy!" Jason greeted as he saw the blonde enter the office.

"Good morning," Lucy replied with a warm smile. She noticed her boss' eyes widen- probably from fear- as his gaze went past her and onto the two behind her.

"C-Cool seeing you again, Natsu! You too, Happy!"

The dragonslayer glared in response, still angry over the fact that he lied to him about Lucy's whereabouts. How could she want to stay with someone like him instead of going back to Fairy Tail?

"Sorry, Jason!" Lucy said with an apologetic smile. "These two are going to be staying with me for a while and I guess they wanted to see what I do at work! Natsu, Happy! Sit in that corner and be quiet, got it?"

Jason blushed as the blonde journalist walked towards him with a bright smile on her face. This did not go unnoticed by the two mages sitting in the corner, of course.

"He liiiikes her," Happy unashamedly said, nudging his partner, who was currently scowling at the sight.

Lucy turned towards the cat, her cheeks set ablaze as she yelled, "H-Happy! Be quiet!"

Jason awkwardly chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "It's cool, Lucy. You're right, Happy! I do like her!"

Happy's jaw dropped in surprise. Nobody had ever confessed something like that whenever he used his annoying catchphrase. People always denied it. Yet here Jason was, blatantly spilling his emotions. The blue cat unconsciously looked up to see his partner's face. As he predicted, the dragon slayer's face was scrunched up in a way that told Happy he was undoubtedly jealous. The exceed stifled a laugh.

" _He liiiikes her too,"_ Happy thought, but didn't dare say aloud. The cat knew when not to tease his friend.

Lucy stood awkwardly as if Jason was confessing to her all over again. Her chocolate-brown eyes landed on Natsu to see him pouting with his arms crossed. " _Is he jealous?"_ she wondered. The warm feeling made its way back into her stomach. Shaking her head furiously, Lucy shoved that thought away. " _As if! Natsu wouldn't get jealous over that! He has no reason to be jealous anyways!"_

"L-Let's get to work already!" Lucy stuttered, taking her spot next to her boss.

And that is how Lucy worked the most awkward seven hour shift with a certain pair of eyes watching her interaction with Jason the entire time.

* * *

"You know, Natsu," Lucy started as the trio were on their way to get something to eat, "you didn't have to come if you were just going to be grumpy the entire time!"

"Oi, I wasn't grumpy!" the dragon slayer retorted. "I was just bored! You have such a boring job, Luce! How could you choose this over dangerous jobs with me and Happy?"

"My job is not boring, thank you very much!"

"Do you get paid as much?"

"W-Well money isn't important…"

"See!" Natsu exclaimed, gaining the attention of everyone around him. "You are the greediest person I know, Lucy! You belong in Fairy Tail going on jobs with us!"

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Lucy sighed as they continued their walk to a barbeque joint in town. That is, until her eyes landed on the new frozen yogurt place she had been dying to go to but never had the chance. Scratch that, she had plenty of opportunities to go but never wanted to go alone. She suddenly turned around to face Natsu, who had been following her rather closely.

Natsu was surprised when Lucy randomly stopped and turned to face him. Their faces were right in front of each other, way too close for comfort. A tint of pink to match his hair made its way onto his cheeks. The boy wanted to jump back, but he couldn't. It was as if his feet were glued to the ground. He had been this close to Lucy before, but _he_ was always the one to instigate it, never the other way around. Natsu then started to look in her eyes, they were such a deep shade of brown it was like he was swimming in rich chocolate. They were so bright and eager as well. He cursed at his ability to hear his own heartbeat, which was thumping rapidly in his chest.

Happy watched his partner with wide eyes. It was so blatantly obvious. He _liked_ her. And it wasn't a joke this time! Natsu liked Lucy, there would be no other explanation for him to look at her like that- or to get so jealous after finding out Jason liked her. " _He probably doesn't even know himself. These two are such dense idiots. I have to tell Mira when we get home!"_

The boy cleared his throat as he tore his gaze away. "W-What do you want? You can't just stop like that."

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him and shot back, "Well maybe you shouldn't be following me so close! Anyways, can we eat here instead? I've been dying to try it out but didn't wanna go alone!"

"Why didn't you and _Jason_ go?"

"S-Shut up, Natsu!"

Natsu playfully nudged the girl and asked, "So are you two a thing or something?"

Lucy led the way into the frozen yogurt shop while answering, "Of course not, idiot. I turned him down. You know, this really isn't any of your business though!"

Natsu laughed and went to fill his cup with a mixture of different flavors. He started with the mango, then pineapple, and finished with cake batter. Lucy stared at the choice of flavors with a pout. How could those be appetizing together? She understood the mango and the pineapple, but why the cake batter? Lucy filled her cup about three quarters of the way with only cake batter yogurt. She then helped Happy fill his own cup with vanilla. The next step was Lucy's favorite part, though she had to wait for Natsu to finish first. The girl watched as he dunked handfuls of coconut shavings and gummy bears. Lucy cringed at the thought of what his deadly concoction would taste like. She then sprinkled oreo crumbs, cookie dough pieces, and brownie bites into her own cup. To top it all off, she covered it with a mountain of whipped cream and cherries. The mage licked her lips in anticipation.

"What do you want on yours, Happy?" Lucy asked, taking the vanilla frozen yogurt into her hand once again.

"I want the Swedish fish!" the cat excitedly answered.

"You know these aren't real fish right?"

"I'm not stupid, Lucy! Anything that is shaped like a fish is good!"

Lucy giggled and sprinkled the fish-shaped gummies into the cup until Happy told her to stop. She then walked towards Natsu and put her cup along with Happy's on the scale to weigh their three cups.

"Oi," Natsu starting, reaching towards Lucy's cup before she slapped his hand away, "why are you putting your cup with ours? I'm not paying for you!"

"Yes you are!" Lucy shot back. "I'm letting you stay with me, it's the least you could do!"

Natsu mumbled something incoherently as he handed the cashier more money.

"My, my," the older female cashier started, "what a cute couple!"

"WE AREN'T A COUPLE!" the two shouted in unison. This brought back old memories of when people always mistook them to be in a relationship.

Happy ignored the two and said to the cashier, "Aren't they?"

Natsu snatched his cup from the scale while walking to take a seat. He could feel his cheeks warming up. Lucy and Happy followed in pursuit. Munching happily on their frozen yogurt, they all let out happy sighs, pleased with the taste. Natsu eyed Lucy's cup devilishly and quickly scooped some of it onto his spoon before plopping it in his mouth.

"Natsu, that's mine!" Lucy shouted, hitting her old partner on the arm. "Eat your own, jerk!"

"But yours looks so good!" he happily replied, a wide grin on his face.

"Too bad! It's not my fault you made yours all gross!"

"Oi, it's not gross! It's delicious! Here, try some!" He then got some of the yogurt onto his own spoon and held it out to the girl.

Lucy eyed the spoon while her cheeks started to burn. That was _Natsu's_ spoon. His mouth had been on it and he was nonchalantly giving her a bite with the same spoon. Sure, they had shared food together in the past, but that was before! They grew apart and became new people! There was no way she could just-!

Natsu grinned at the girl with a wide smile after shoving the spoon into her mouth. Apparently she was too lost in thought she didn't notice the red spoon going towards her mouth.

"See, isn't it good?" he asked, his eyes bright with anticipation.

All Lucy could do was nod in reply, her cheeks starting to match his hair. To be honest she wasn't even sure of what the yogurt tasted like for she was too focused on the fact that she just ate off of Natsu's spoon.

"An indirect kiss," Happy randomly said as he munched contentedly on his own frozen yogurt.

"H-Happy!" the blonde mage screeched in embarrassment. Slowly turning to face Natsu to see his reaction, she was startled to find his face mere inches away from her own.

"What do you say, Luce?" he teased with a smirk. "Why don't we make it direct this time?"

Lucy squealed as she pushed the dragon slayer far away from her, ignoring the laughter from her company. She mentally cursed herself when she realized how fast her heart was beating and needed to get some space.

"S-Stupid idiots!" she cried out, her face flushed worse than before. "I'm going home to work on my novel!"

With that, the celestial mage stormed out of shop, still able to hear Natsu and Happy laughing in the distance. She placed her hand over her heart, and sure enough it was beating rapidly enough she felt it was going to fly out of her chest.

" _I really need to get a hold of myself."_

* * *

The old three musketeers of Fairy Tail sat in Lucy's living room for their first night staying in her apartment together- or at least their first night with Lucy _knowing_ they were there. Natsu and Happy were animatedly telling a story from their trip, using insane hand gestures and taking breaks to laugh. Apparently their laughter was contagious, for Lucy couldn't help but laugh along with them.

"And then Gildarts ran back for us crying and beating Natsu up for accidentally taking his bag full of dirty pictures!" Happy cried out, rolling on the floor with laughter.

At this point everyone was crying while their stomachs began to cramp from laughing too much. Once they were all somewhat calmed down, Natsu faced Lucy with bright eyes.

"So now it's your turn!" he said. "Tell us one of your stories since we left!"

The celestial mage awkwardly chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. She didn't really have any interesting stories. The parts of her life before Natsu came and after he left were dreadful and terribly boring. How was she supposed to explain to him that she had no stories to tell because she always locked herself in her apartment, too scared of being abandoned again?

"Well, hmm…" she started, racking her brain for at least _one_ interesting story. Finally, something popped into her head, though it was horrendously embarrassing. Either way, she couldn't let them find out how much of an introvert she became when they left. "Alright, you better not make fun of me, got it?"

The two of them stifled a smile and nodded their heads. Lucy knew they were bound to laugh but she continued anyways.

"OK, so when I first moved to Crocus, I had like no money whatsoever. I stayed in Magnolia, not really going on many jobs because I didn't wanna go by myself and everyone was just about gone by then. So I was absolutely broke and eventually kicked out of my apartment, which is why I moved here! Nab offered me to stay with him, but who would want to live with Nab? Anyways, Jason found me and offered me a modeling job for those skimpy photoshoots and I accepted, and it sucked! Don't get me wrong, I'm so grateful to Jason for offering me a job because then I could pay rent and everything on time!"

She continued, her face getting redder by the second, "But you know, models actually don't get paid as well as I thought. When I got my first paycheck, I went a little crazy and bought a bunch of stuff for the apartment and I _may_ have bought some clothes and other stupid things… And I also _may_ have forgotten to save enough money for rent. I was barely short of the money I needed, but still short. I-I couldn't just get kicked out again! I had no choice!" Lucy covered her red face with her hands and she let out a squeal.

Natsu leaned closer to her excitedly, a mischievous grin on his face. "What did you do, Lucy!?" He could tell it was something embarrassing, he needed to know. The blonde mage mumbled something incoherently. "What did you say?" Her voice was too muffled from her hands being in her face when she said it again.

"Lucy, just say it!" Happy cried out, practically wiggling in his seat in anticipation. The cat had a feeling at what she did, but wanted to confirm his suspicions.

"I DID A NUDE PHOTOSHOOT TO GET THE MONEY I NEEDED!" Lucy shouted, burying her head in her hands. Laughter erupted from the two sitting across from her, embarrassing the girl even more. "I-I told you not to laugh!"

"No," Natsu started between cackles, "you said not to make fun of you. You didn't say anything about laughing!"

"It's the same thing!"

"I wanna see the naked pictures of Lucy!" Happy cried out, flying around the apartment and trashing it in hopes of finding them stashed away somewhere.

"Oh, me too!" Natsu said, getting up to join the exceed.

"S-Stop, I don't have it! After paying rent I bought all of the copies I could afford and burned them!" Lucy shouted.

"But there were some that you couldn't buy?"

"W-Well, yeah… Only two though, so you'll never see the pictures, idiots!"

"C'mon, Luce!"

"No!"

"I knew she would keep one!" Happy suddenly cried out, carrying a magazine in his hand.

Lucy shrieked and shouted, "You stupid cat! Give it to me right now!" She then went running towards the exceed before he could look for her pictures. Just before she could grab the magazine, Happy threw it towards the dragonslayer, who caught it easily. Lucy then ran towards him and it quickly became a game of monkey in the middle, though instead of a ball it was Lucy's nudes.

"That's it!" she cried out. "LUCY KICK!"

With that, the celestial mage used her specialty move to knock down Natsu. Turning around, she repeated the process to the blue cat cowering in the corner. Snatching the magazine from the floor, Lucy sighed with relief that they didn't see it- though the two had seen her naked before, more than once I might add. Walking towards the dragon slayer, she used one hand to tickle his foot while used the other to hold the magazine in front of his mouth. Natsu screamed and wiggled under her touch, breathing fire and burning the magazine to a crisp.

"No, Natsu! You just burned the magazine! Now how will we see Lucy naked?" Happy cried out.

"I have an idea!" Natsu replied, quickly recovering from the kick. He wiggled his fingers, about to grab for Lucy's clothes before the girl turned around and kicked him again in the face. "Oi, Lucy! I was just kidding!"

"Sure you were!" the blonde mage replied. "I have work tomorrow, we should go to bed now. And STAY on the couch!"

"Aye, sir!"

Lucy walked into her room with a smile written on her face. She hadn't felt this happy in so long, she had nearly forgotten what it felt like. Climbing into bed with Happy by her side, the two slowly drifted into sleep, though the girl would be lying if she said she didn't feel another presence enter her bed about an hour later. And she would also be lying if she said it didn't make her glad he joined them.

 **AN:** I hope you guys liked that as much as I did! Btw, Lucy's frozen yogurt was what I always get. :) I love cake batter frozen yogurt haha!

 **Kaylacutiepop:** (Chapter 5) Oh no I somehow missed your review for the older chapter! My bad and thanks for the review! :)

 **Mavis Chase:** Haha thank you! :D And once I finish this story I'll definitely start watching it :)

 **MirrorFlame:** And more you shall receive! :D Thanks for the review!

 **Guest:** I'm glad you loved it! :D And thank you! I don't like making everyone wait super long for an update :)

 **Alexa:** MAN I HOPE YOU THINK THIS CHAPTER WAS CUTE FOR YOUR FANGIRL HEART TOO! Haha thank you for the awesome review! :D

 **Court818:** Haha you'll find out later! :D Thanks for the review again :)

 **J.C:** Lol I love these reviews! Keep them coming! :D And by all means review all of my stories if you like Ulquihime! (Warning: my first story is terrible haha!) Thanks again! :D

 **12Rayne:** Oh yes, Mira will definitely enjoy it haha! Thank you for the review :D

 **Sama775:** Even more nalu fluff to come! ;) Thanks for the review! :)


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** I'm so glad people seem to be liking this story so far! :D Can't wait to finish it up and make an AU story with nalu :D Please enjoy and review :)

Chapter 8

"Hello, Mom. It's been a while since I wrote to you last. I've been doing alright recently. Things have gotten noisier now that Natsu and Happy are here but it's great. I still wish you could've met them. I don't know what to do, Mom. I feel this urge to go back to Magnolia, but I feel as if I should stay. I wish you were here to give me advice. Well, hopefully I'll figure it out soon. I'll write to you later, Mom. Say hello to Dad for me. I love and miss you both."

Lucy sighed as she placed the newly written letter into an envelope. Sealing it with a circular red sticker, the girl put it in the box with the rest of the letters. It looked as if it was going to burst at any moment, she really needed to buy a new box. Snapping back to reality, Lucy felt hot breath on the back of her neck, making her hair stand up. Her skin tingled with every passing second.

"Why do you write all of these letters?" Natsu finally asked. His tone was genuinely curious and serious unlike his usual playful persona.

"I write them to keep in touch with my parents," Lucy answered with a sad smile on her face, still facing forward instead of facing the dragon slayer. "Don't laugh, but it helps me feel connected to them. I imagine their faces and what they would've replied. I don't know, maybe it's silly…"

"It's not silly and I would never laugh at you for that." A few moments of silence passed by until he decided to speak again. "Does it actually work?"

Lucy finally turned to face the boy and smiled at him. "I think it does."

Natsu simply nodded in response and made his way back towards Happy, who was munching on another piece of Lucy's salmon because he already ate all of his own. He then stared absentmindedly out the window, his thoughts wrapped around something seemingly important, which did not go unnoticed by Lucy. He was definitely not himself that day and it worried her. She wanted him to perk up so she could see his bright smile.

"H-Hey, Natsu…" the celestial mage started. She knew she was going to regret this later but she continued anyways. "Why don't we visit Magnolia tomorrow? I'm sure you and Happy need to get some things from your place and I wouldn't mind seeing everyone in Fairy Tail again…"

The pink-haired mage whipped his head around to face the girl. His eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets as his mouth hung wide open. "Really, Luce!? You'll join Fairy Tail again!?"

"H-Hey, I said _visit!_ I'm not joining, get that through your thick skull already!"

Natsu stared into her chocolate eyes, wondering how to continue. Finally, he shook his head. "No thanks. I promised them that the next time I come back will be with you joining. I don't care how long it takes, Luce. I'll get you to come back for good."

Lucy flushed from head to toe. Natsu was once again looking out the window with a somber look on his face. Perhaps he was just bored instead of homesick?

"Hey, Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, gaining his attention once again. "Let's spar!"

The dragon slayer blinked once, then twice. Seeing her determined look, he then burst into a fit of laughter, clutching his stomach due to cramping.

"Oi, Luce. You are no competition! That'll be no fun!"

The celestial mage shot Natsu daggers with her eyes. "Natsu Dragneel, don't underestimate me! I've trained a lot since you left and I've gotten a lot better!"

Natsu grinned almost maniacally as fire began to ooze from his mouth. "Alright, Luce! Let's fight!"

"Not here! We'll go to the place I train at! It's not too far."

With that, the two were on their way. Lucy was right, it wasn't too far and was only a fifteen minute walk from her apartment. It was a grassy meadow with a shallow river nearby. Happy took a seat on a rock a good distance from them to keep safe. Not knowing who to cheer for, he cheered them both on, though he had a feeling Lucy didn't stand a chance. Natsu eyed the river suspiciously. He knew Lucy could summon Aquarius to combat his flames, turning them ineffective. Either way, he was all fired up to spar with his old partner, who he had never sparred with before.

"I ain't gonna hold back on ya, Luce!" Natsu stated, raising his fists as fire enveloped them.

"I don't want you to go easy on me anyways," the blonde shot back, grabbing her keys and feeling them warm under her touch.

"Alright!" Happy exclaimed, excited to watch their fight. "3, 2, 1, GO!"

Natsu instantly charged at the girl with a raised fist. Lucy skillfully dodged his first attack and grabbed one of her most trustful companion's key. Placing it on her chest, she was then surrounded by a bright, golden light as her body began to transform. Well, not so much her body as much as her clothes. When the light disappeared, she was in a maid outfit with her golden hair in pigtails.

Natsu stared at the girl confused. What the hell just happened? Shrugging it off, he charged at her once again, only to find her gone when he went to punch her. Suddenly, a crumbling sound was heard behind him and he quickly turned to find Lucy sprouting out of the ground. Natsu was just barely able to dodge as she delivered her well-known Lucy Kick.

"Whoa, Luce! It's like you're Virgo!" the dragon slayer cried out, feeling rather proud of his partner.

"Yep!" Lucy replied as she grabbed another key. In such a swift and easy motion, Gemini appeared, already taking her form. "Loke, come on out!" With a third flash of light, the leader of the celestial spirits arrived, using his own power so as to not drain hers. Now it was Lucy, Gemini, and Loke against Natsu.

Natsu's sweat dropped but he kept a smile plastered on his face. It was exciting to go up against Lucy. She used to be such a timid girl that wouldn't fight as much on their first few missions together, and now here she was holding her own against him. More fire oozed from his anticipation as he lunged towards the three. Loke effectively blocked his attack, distracting the mage while Lucy went underground. Gemini quickly pulled out Lucy's whip to detain the dragon slayer.

"As if that would work!" Natsu shouted. Fire made its way up towards the spirit until they dropped the whip. He was just about to triumphantly smirk until Lucy once again sprouted right behind him and tightly wrapped her arms around him. The pink-haired mage tried to budge his way out of her hold, but it was futile. When did she get such superhuman strength? Perhaps it was Virgo's magic helping her.

"Go, Loke!" Lucy shouted.

The lion spirit nodded while his fists glowed even brighter than before. He then swung his fists at Natsu while Lucy held him, punching him easily. Natsu was highly taken aback by all of this. When did Lucy find the time to train when she worked with Jason? And just how much training did she do to get _this_ good? Snapping back into reality, Natsu enveloped both himself and Lucy in fire- though he made sure it wouldn't actually burn the girl, only frighten her so that she would release him.

"Damn, Luce! You got a hell of a lot stronger!"

Lucy smiled in response as she sent Gemini away so as to save magic power. She then took the time to choose a new spirit to use Star Dress with. Placing another gold key to her chest, she then came out with a giant bow while wearing a dark green leotard. She then shot multiple arrows towards the boy to keep him and his flames away. This went on for a long time, though neither seemed to notice as they were having too much fun. Natsu eventually managed to break past Loke and fly towards her.

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" he shouted, clearly startling the blonde below. She definitely made the mistake of choosing a far-range spirit like Sagittarius. Landing in front of her, he held his fist in front of her face with a grin. "Just messin' with ya, Luce! As if I would ever hit you with that attack!"

Lucy giggled as she panted. She had definitely used up quite a bit of magic power in their spar. The girl then undid Star Dress and was back in her normal clothes. She then waved Loke off- after he had a brief catching up moment with Natsu and Happy- and laid on the grass to relax. The celestial mage hadn't fought that hard in a while. Actually, she hadn't fought at all since she came to Crocus.

"That was fun," Lucy breathlessly let out, still panting.

"You are really strong, Lucy!" Happy cried out, offering the girl a fish- which she politely declined.

"Yeah, Luce! When did you get so strong?" Natsu questioned as he slung an arm around her, taking in the tint of pink that appeared on her face.

"Loke and I train at least once a week! And soon after the guild disbanded Virgo taught me how to use Star Dress so that I can use portions of their magic."

Natsu nodded as he saw the river sparkling nearby. "Oi, Luce. Why didn't you use Aquarius? I'm sure her water would extinguish my flames."

Lucy awkwardly chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head, her eyes displaying sadness, which did not go unnoticed by the other two. "I-I guess I just forgot!"

The dragon slayer eyed the girl suspiciously as he heard her heart rate quicken. She was lying. Snatching her keys, he ran away, ignoring her shouts and pleads as he inspected each key. To his surprise, Aquarius' key was missing.

"Where is she?" Natsu asked as he stopped running. The blonde stopped in front of him and he could see her brown orbs glazing over with tears. "Lucy, what the hell happened?"

With that, the blonde collapsed to the ground in a fit of sobs, surprising the other two. Happy quickly flew towards the girl and gently prodded her head. She covered her face with her hands as her body began to shake, reminding her of the time she had to explain to Erza.

"Did someone steal her?" Natsu questioned as he rubbed the girl's head in an attempt to get her to calm down. "If so, I can help you get her back-"

"She's _gone,_ Natsu! She's dead and it's my fault!" the girl answered as she leapt into the boy's unsuspecting arms.

Natsu's eyes widened as his breath hitched in his throat. The dragon slayer was terribly curious as to how such a thing could have happened, but waited patiently for the blonde to speak up again. It was clearly painful enough just admitting the mermaid spirit was dead, he didn't want to prod her to go into greater detail. Thus, he sat still, holding the girl in his arms as he drew little circles in her back with his fingertips. Eventually, Lucy did calm down, though she was hiccupping from sobbing too much.

"It happened in the battle with Tartaros," Lucy starting, keeping her head rested on Natsu's shoulder so as to not look him in the face as she explained.

"Lucy, you don't have to tell-"

"It was when everyone was gone. I guess you were all sucked up in this red goo and I was the only one that managed to escape it. All of the demons were sent after me and at first Virgo, Loke, and I put up a good fight. We managed to take out a bunch of the littler demons, but that one demon that blew stuff up- what was his name again? Oh well, it doesn't matter now. He kept giving us all trouble so I called for Aquarius, even though the other two warned me not to. My body could barely handle it."

She released a sigh and continued, "The water demon that Gajeel defeated hurt Aquarius pretty badly while the other one eventually got rid of Loke and Virgo. He then started to make explosions around me and I couldn't do anything. I was so _weak._ I knew I had to save everyone though, so I kept holding on, hoping I could magically find strength to beat them all. Aquarius saved me and kept the demons at bay for a while but they were bound to get to us and she couldn't do anything about it."

Tears began to stream down her face once again as she continued, "She told me that we needed to summon the Celestial Spirit King. At first I was worried because I didn't have his key, but then she told me he doesn't have one. But then I found out the rules there were to summon him. First, a celestial mage needs to be able to open three gates, which I barely managed to do. Second, they must sacrifice one of the zodiac keys."

Lucy could feel Natsu's body tense. He knew what happened by now, but she decided to explain even more. "I told her I couldn't possibly sacrifice one of them and she told me to break her key. I told her I couldn't do that, she was my first friend after all. She took care of me when I was a kid and was there when I had no friends. She was there after my mother's death… But then she started yelling at me, telling me the world was more important that her life. She always was yelling, huh? Anyways, I eventually gave in to save everyone and broke her key… The Celestial Spirit King came and did some kind of spell while I was crying like an idiot on the ground and you were all released from the goo. Next thing I know, you guys are saving me again."

"Lucy, I had no idea…" Natsu finally said after long moments of silence. "I-I wouldn't have left you if I knew."

The blonde mage sniffled and smiled at the boy. Though her heart was aching from the pain of losing her first friend, she was relieved to have finally told Natsu and Happy about it. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

"It's fine," Lucy replied, wiping the tears away. "Let's just go home now, OK?"

When the three got home, Lucy decided to take a bath to wash away the sweat and dry tears. She lathered her body in soap and inhaled the sweet scent that filled the air. Leaning her head against the wall, the girl recalled the events of that day. She had _finally_ told Natsu about Aquarius. What was there holding her back from joining Fairy Tail now? Lucy wasn't sure, but she knew she just wasn't ready yet. In fact, she was enjoying watching Natsu try to get her back. It made her feel special and gave her the warm feeling in her gut she wasn't used to.

Finally finishing with her back, Lucy got dressed into fluffy pajamas in the bathroom and went back into the living room to see her friends. She was surprised, however, to see that the two weren't there. Sighing, the girl went to her desk to start writing on her novel until her eyes landed on an envelope on her desk.

" _Oh, guess I forgot to put this one in the box!"_ Lucy thought until she looked closer at the envelope in her hand.

All it said was "To: Igneel" in sloppy handwriting. At first the girl was just going to leave it, not wanting to invade Natsu's privacy, but then she remembered the time he and the rest of their team opened a bunch of her letters to her mom. Carefully tearing away at the seal, Lucy opened the envelope and pulled out a folded note.

She then read aloud, "Hiya Igneel! It's me Natsu!"

" _Does he not know what a comma is?"_ the girl thought with a smile but continued to keep reading.

"I'm writing to you because that's what Lucy does with her parents! Says it keeps her connected to them or something. You suck for leaving Igneel. I looked everywhere for you for years and you didn't even answer all of my questions. I guess it's OK though because I have Happy to cheer me up. Soon I'll have Lucy back in Magnolia so she can keep me company too! I shoulda introduced you two! Anyways I just found out that Aquarius is gone so Happy and I are getting Lucy a present. Later Igneel!"

Lucy held the piece of paper in her hands dearly. Happy tears gathered in her eyes as she tucked the letter back into the envelope. He had kept her in mind while writing this. He even wanted to introduce her to his father, the one he loved so much. The girl smiled knowing that Natsu was out buying her a present to make her feel better. The warm feeling in her stomach quickly spread to the rest of the body. He truly did make her feel special. Thus, the girl happily waited on the couch for the two to return, hoping her eyes didn't convey the feelings she wasn't sure of. This was it. This was all she needed to know she wanted to go back to Fairy Tail with him.

 **AN:** I WILL FOREVER BE UPSET THAT NOBODY KNOWS THE SACRIFICE LUCY WENT THROUGH TO SAVE THEM ALL. I THINK SOMETHING LIKE THIS SHOULD'VE HAPPENED! Anyways, hope you guys liked the chapter :D

 **Kaylacutiepop:** And more nalu is what you shall receive! :D

 **Mavis Chase:** I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought it was funny haha! Thanks for the review! :D

 **Guest:** Thank youuuuu! :D SO KIND

 **12Rayne:** Mira will definitely enjoy that haha! :D

 **Sama775:** Yes he does haha! :D Thank you for the review :)

 **FT4eva:** Yes he is ;) Haha thanks :D

 **J.C:** Thanks for all of the reviews, means a lot! :) And yes! They will definitely be getting a talk, a very meaningful talk that I haven't started writing yet but I'm very excited to! :D


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** Short chapter for today! Hope you enjoy though! :D

Chapter 9

Lucy was sitting on her couch spending her time reading one of her most beloved novels. It was the typical boy meets girl type of story in which they both hate each other at first yet somehow fall in love towards the end. These kinds of stories always managed to make her wonder what love was like. Then again, _everything_ seemed to be doing that lately. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she was 17 and had never had her first kiss- though she had almost been in an arranged marriage before, which had to count for something. The girl sighed as her eyes scanned the page, jealous of the fictional characters.

" _Am I ever going to fall in love?"_ Lucy wondered with a sad smile on her face. " _Mother must be disappointed. She's probably never going to have grandchildren at the rate I'm going. Oh my gosh what if I turn into one of those old ladies that has a million cats? If I ever go back to Fairy Tail I am definitely going to have Cana help me with this kind of stuff."_

Suddenly, her door was thrust open and she was brought out of her negative thinking. Lucy watched as Natsu and Happy walked into her apartment. It was clear that they were hiding something behind their back- it had to be her present. The dragon slayer grinned at her brightly.

"Close your eyes, Lucy!" he instructed.

Lucy giggled and did as she was told, excited to see what they got her. Knowing them, it probably wasn't anything too expensive or nice, but it still made her feel special that she was in their thoughts. Her heart started to beat at an insane speed when she felt a warm hand grab onto her own as Natsu slid the gift onto her palm. She tried to tell herself that it was simply because she was too excited about the present and that it wasn't because Natsu's hand was touching her own. Though deep down she knew it wasn't true, especially since she was too focused on the roughness of his touch to notice the hard material of the gift.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now!"

Lucy looked down into her hand and found a thick book in her hand. The mage was surprised to see that it wasn't an action-packed novel that Natsu probably preferred and was instead a romance book.

" _Great, another thing to remind me of how terribly single I am,"_ she thought. Nonetheless, a smile was glued on her face and she quickly wrapped her arms around Natsu's neck and pulled him in for a tight hug. "Thank you, Natsu. It's great."

"Hey, what about me?" Happy asked as he plopped onto Lucy's head. "I'm the one that picked out the romantic book instead of the fighting one!"

"Thank you, Happy," she replied, hugging the blue cat dearly.

The three then sat around on the floor for their second night of telling stories. Natsu was going on and on about how vigorous his training was and was removing his coat to show the girl a scar he got from fighting one of the many monsters in some far away forest. While the dragon slayer continued to talk about his training, Lucy stared at the scar and giggled seeing how tiny it was. Her eyes then admired his tan arm, which was just rightfully toned. He wasn't too bulky nor too scrawny. Even his abs were perfect, they almost had Lucy drooling before she caught herself.

" _Oh god why am I thinking about that with Natsu!? Get ahold of yourself, Lucy!"_ she thought as she fought the urge to lightly slap herself.

"Your turn, Luce!" Natsu exclaimed, bringing the girl out of her thoughts.

"H-Huh?"

"It's your turn to tell a story!"

Lucy frowned. Her social life was just as bad as her love life. The story she told the prior night was pretty much all she had. Well, she did have _one_ story, but the girl was unsure as to how Natsu and Happy would react. It wasn't even funny, but the celestial mage decided to say it anyways.

"Well, about a week ago I was visiting Yukino in Sabertooth because she was trying to convince me to go back to Fairy Tail-"

"Which you should."

"Hush. Anyways, she ended up dragging me into a storage closet and-"

"Lucy! Did you and Yukino do what I think you did!?" Happy interrupted with wide eyes. He clearly had the wrong idea.

"No of course not! Stop interrupting! She dragged me in there and poured a bunch of alcohol and oil on me!"

"Why?" Natsu questioned, unsure as to where this story was headed. Perhaps this was one of Lucy's kinks.

"Because dragon slayers have super strong sense of smells and two of them were heading towards us."

An imaginary lightbulb lit up above Natsu's head as he asked, "W-Wait, a week ago? Were you there when we went to see if any members were in Sabertooth!?"

"Yep!"

Natsu huffed and crossed his arms. "You didn't have to hide from us."

"Yes I did, or else you would've tried dragging me back."

"True."

Lucy stood up and raised her arms above her head in a stretch. Her back popped relaxingly as she did this and she knew she was getting tired. Walking back towards her room, the mage was surprised to feel a warm hand gently grab her wrist. This small touch sent a wave of butterflies throughout her, giddiness coursing through her veins. Why did Natsu keep making her feel like this?

"Let's go out tomorrow, Lucy," the pink-haired mage said.

"W-Where are we going?" Lucy inquired, though her mind was focused on the way he kept his hand on her wrist.

"It's a surprise!"

Lucy grinned at the boy mischievously as she asked, "Natsu, are you asking me on a date?"

Natsu sputtered back, "Of course not, stupid!"

The blonde winked at the boy and replied, "Sure, Natsu! Whatever you say! I guess I can go on a date with you!"

With that said, the girl went into her room and closed the door behind her. She leaned her back against the door and placed her hand over her chest. As she predicted, her heart was practically thrashing against her ribcage and she was flustered from head to toe. What was going on with her body lately? She and Natsu used to make jokes like this all the time, why was this any different? Did she actually _want_ it to be a date this time?

Plopping onto her bed, Lucy began to think to herself. " _Maybe I should go see a doctor. My hearts been going crazy, maybe this is a warning sign of having a heart attack? No, that's not it. I've researched heart attacks before and this was not on there. Why do I keep getting like this around Natsu? Is it because I haven't seen him in a while?"_

Lucy looked at her nightstand and saw the hardcover book Natsu and Happy had bought her, reminding her of her nonexistent love life. " _Wait… in every book I read or write with characters falling in love, their hearts are always beating fast. Oh shit… Am I in love with Natsu?"_

The blonde shook her head furiously at the thought and stifled a laugh. There was no way that could be true! She hadn't even seen him since a few days ago! He had been gone for over a year! How could she possibly love him? Memories of Jason and other boys asking her out flooded her mind and she realized she had never felt these feelings with any of them. Even with the boys she found attractive weren't able to make her feel so light inside. Even before the guild disbanded she could remember these feelings existing around the dragon slayer. There was no denying it now.

" _Damn it. I'm in love with Natsu Dragneel."_

* * *

Lucy woke up the next morning and immediately frowned, wishing she could stay in her bed forever. She was in love with Natsu, her old partner and best friend. How could she have let this happen? And of all people, why did it have to be _Natsu?_ The girl let out a groan and covered her face with her pillow. Natsu was even denser than she was when it came to these things. This love of hers was definitely going to stay unrequited and go nowhere.

" _Why couldn't I fall in love with Loke or Jason? Somebody that I have a chance with?"_ the blonde wondered, screaming into her pillow out of frustration. She had _finally_ fallen in love and it was with somebody that probably didn't even find girls attractive at all.

"You OK, Luce?" Natsu asked as he stood in her doorway. He could hear her muffled screaming from the living room and ran in thinking she was being suffocated only to find her shoving her own face into a pillow.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Get out of my room!" the blonde squealed as she threw her pillow at him.

"You're weird, Lucy!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Whatever you say, Luigi!"

"Stop calling me that!"

With that, the pink-haired mage was out of her room, leaving Lucy with a flushed face once again.

" _And I really wanted to go back to Fairy Tail… How can I go back now that I love Natsu when he'll never like me back?"_

Lucy sighed and began to get ready for her "date" with Natsu. Since it was her day off from work, the girl decided to wear something cute she wouldn't normally wear. She _may_ have also been doing it to impress a certain someone, though she would never admit it. Slipping into a sundress, the mage admired herself in the mirror. It was a dark green dress with white hibiscus flowers printed near the side. As always, she could do nothing to hide her cleavage, though she didn't mind. If you got it, why not flaunt it?

Grabbing one of her zodiac keys, she summoned Cancer and asked him to give her beach-wave curls for her hairstyle that day. The crab spirit happily obliged and went to work, giving the girl exactly what she asked for. Her long, golden locks of hair flowed gracefully with loose waves, just like Mira's. Slipping on some white sandals, Lucy was ready to go.

Natsu was in the process of reading one of Lucy's unfinished stories when he felt a rather hard kick to his back. Groaning and rubbing the soon-to-be bruised spot, the boy turned to face the girl and yell at her for kicking him. However, when he did, he instantly regretted it. His breath hitched as he stared at the blonde in front of him. He took in the waves in her hair and the way her dress showed off her curves. The dark green complimented her golden hair and fair skin. It was definitely a nice color for her.

Natsu could feel his cheeks along with the rest of his body gain significant heat. Certain lower parts of his body tingled and he mentally cursed himself for it. The boy then shook his head furiously to snap out of his trance- which did not go unnoticed by Lucy.

Clearing his throat, the boy finally said, "Took you long enough." He then began to walk past the girl and out of the apartment towards wherever they were going that day.

Lucy smiled, thinking about Natsu's reaction to her appearance.

" _Maybe I do have a chance after all."_

 **AN:** Lol this story really is moving fast! Oh well, I like it!

 **Mavis Chase:** Thank you so much! And yes! I loved reading the manga when she got the Star Dress and was stronger! Needed to include it in my story!

 **Doom Marine 54:** Lol, because you are probably a child, I will keep it civil. When I went to your account, I noticed you only had one "story" which is just pointing out somebody stole somebody else's story (which is a good thing you called out) and all 100 something reviews were people telling you how rude you are for leaving nasty reviews on other people's stories when you don't even write any yourself. You clearly love spending your time doing this to a lot of people because you don't like Lucy- which is cool, everyone has their own opinions- but being rude to people you don't know is not cool. So, I do not need to say much about that. However, I will correct many of the mistakes you made in your hateful reviews:

1.) As we discussed, I didn't have ANYONE in my story take Lucy's side yet. Erza told her everyone handles loss differently and that she should be more understanding. Rogue told her to be more understanding. Sting was upset with her for not seeing Natsu. Jason, Yukino, Leo, and Virgo said nothing on the matter. Get over it. :)

2.) I am very aware that Natsu probably thought she would be in the guild, but that didn't end up happening, so she was left alone. Which I am now using for my story. Get over it. :)

3.) In what way is somebody dying a first world issue lol? Anyways, I am very aware that they were in a war. However, that doesn't mean that they couldn't have figured it out after. I mean, they had to have been curious as to how they were just magically released out of nowhere. Again, because they didn't, I am using it in my story. Get over it. :)

4.) Lucy did lose somebody actually. Her first friend. Thus, I used it in my story. Get over it. :)

5.) Gajeel and Wendy left because they had to. The guild disbanded so they didn't have a choice.

ANYWAYS, have a nice day! Feel free to keep reading and leaving reviews lmao!

 **12Rayne:** Your reviews just always manage to make me laugh! :D Thanks again! :)

 **J.C:** Oops, hope you didn't think she was coming home in this chapter haha! Soon though, I promise! Thanks again my #1 reviewer! :')

 **Alexa:** Aww, another kind review :') AND YES. I will definitely write a chapter with a mission to show off her strength, thanks for the idea! And while I would love for her to use Aquarius' powers, I feel like with this story in particular I can't let her because I wrote her off as dead haha! AND OMG GREAT IDEA! I WISH THEY DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT IN THE MANGA. I'll see if I can put that in somewhere! :D And I am thinking of an AU story after this one if you are interested :) And thank you about the Doom Marine person, I won't let their hateful words get to me :)

 **Sama775:** Hahaha that would be so funny! They should do that in the manga lol. Thanks for the review :D

 **Kaylacutiepop:** Isn't it so sad! D: At least once the war is over she can go find her! Well not in my story because I wrote Aquarius off as dead, but still! Thanks for another review :)

 **Mirror Flame:** Wow I have never read a fic that long haha! The most I've read is a little over 100 chapters! Must be really good though! :D And thank you I hope it wasn't too much of a wait :)

 **Kyouya Sata:** Lmao I know she didn't actually die. I am caught up on the manga. I just felt that for my story I wanted her to be dead because I want her to have a similar pain that Natsu had. It is a fanfic, I don't have everything go with the manga haha! It might also be because I didn't like how random it was where she came back and her key was magically put somewhere else and just needed to be found. Idk, I don't think I like the idea very much for some reason. Thanks for the review though!

 **Guest:** I'm glad you enjoyed it :D Thank you for the review :D


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** Yay we are on chapter 10 now! :D I just wanna take the time to say that I really appreciate everyone who follows/favorites and especially those that review :) You guys really make my day! Thanks a lot! :D

Chapter 10

"Natsu, where are we going exactly?" Lucy asked as she walked behind her former partner.

"It's a surprise!" the dragon slayer answered with a grin.

The two had been walking for not too long in a comfortable silence, passing many vendors on the way. Lucy could swear people thought they were a couple or something with the way they were staring at them. A lady even tried to get Natsu to buy her flowers, which made the celestial mage nearly pass out from embarrassment. Finally, they were approaching their destination.

"You want to go to Crocus Garden?" Lucy asked with a bright smile on her face. She had always wanted to go but never had anyone to accompany her. "This is the place Wendy was kidnapped by Ivan's helpers, right?"

"Yep! But ain't nothing going to happen this time around!" Natsu happily said as he led the way. "Not with me around!"

Lucy giggled and ran forward, eager to see the beautiful plants that awaited the two. Her eyes widened at the sight of the endless sea of flowers, their petals varying in color. The aroma was fresh and sweet, just as the girl had expected. The breeze was warm and gentle, causing them all sway side to side, making the flowers look like rainbow waves. Lucy stared in complete awe and content. Everything was so perfect and she was glad to be spending the day with Natsu, though she did wonder what Happy was up to.

Natsu felt his cheeks gaining a familiar warmth, and it wasn't due to his magic. No, instead it was because of the sight of his partner, standing in front of the many flowers with a dazzling smile spread across her face. He felt proud of himself for bringing her here and being the one to make her smile. Sure, plants weren't his thing and he would rather be burning the place down, but if it meant seeing Lucy smile like that, he didn't care what they were doing.

Natsu shook his head to try and regain his thoughts. Clearing his throat, he said, "Oi, let's get moving! There's a bunch more to see!"  
The two continued to walk, Natsu's heartrate increasing by the second. He had been preparing himself for this moment all day, but he couldn't fight the anxious feeling in his gut. The boy's feet began to feel heavy and he could feel sweat dripping down his forehead.

" _Damn I hope she says yes."_

"N-Natsu, look!" he heard Lucy cry out, bringing him out of his thoughts once again.

When the mage looked in her direction, he immediately regretted it as the warm feeling erupted throughout his body. Lucy was standing in front of a rainbow cherry blossom tree, the multicolored petals falling gracefully by her. Her golden locks of hair was swaying with the breeze, along with her dress. Natsu mentally cursed himself as he caught himself staring at her in awe. Then it hit him. They were finally here. It was time to set his plan into motion.

"Oi, Lucy," he started as he leaned on the railing next to her, "do you remember when you were sick and you couldn't see this kind of tree even though you really wanted to?"

Lucy smiled and nodded her head. "Yep. Then some wonderful person uprooted the tree and let it float down the canal outside of my apartment so that I could see it. I wonder who that was." The girl had to fight back a laugh, for she knew all along it was Natsu. Who else could it have been?

"Well, that person was me!"

The celestial mage hung her mouth open in fake shock. "Whatever do you mean it was you? _You_ did that for _me?"_

"Yep! Because I wanted you to be able to see it!"

Natsu's bright smile faltered for a second and Lucy could tell he was nervous.

"Did you have something you wanted to say, Natsu?" she asked, hoping it would be a love confession. Who was she kidding? It was _Natsu,_ as if she would be getting one of those anytime soon. However, she remained hopeful and ignored the increasing heartrate in her chest.

"Actually, yeah… Remember when we were on Tenrou Island and we were fighting that one weirdo with the doll?"

"Yeah…" Lucy answered, unsure as to where he was going with this.

"Do you remember when I told you to run and leave me behind because I was trapped under some rocks? Remember when you refused to? You said that it's more fun when we're together. Well, Luce, I agree with you! It is more fun when we're together! But I belong in Fairy Tail, and so do you. So what do you say, Luce? Wanna come back with me? We're better together."

Lucy gulped painfully and fought back tears that were gathering in her eyes. She refused to cry when she felt so _happy._ Sure, it wasn't a love confession like she originally wanted, but this was even better. Just hearing him ask her to come back made her body feel light as a feather. Nodding her head, the girl thrust herself into Natsu's unsuspecting arms.

"Of course I'll come back with you!" the girl exclaimed, tears falling from her eyes like waterfalls. "I just have to tell Jason, oh gosh I feel terrible just leaving him-"

"Don't," Natsu interrupted, irritated just hearing the reporter's name.

"Well that's easy for you to say. He offered me a job and everything, of course I'll feel bad just suddenly leaving. We were working on an article together too. Oh well, I'm sure he'll be fine. Oh, I have to pack up my apartment! Do you think my old one is still available?"

"Don't worry about packing! I already had Happy start that with Sting and the others' help!"

Lucy's jaw dropped as she stared at the reckless boy in front of her. "You had them pack up my apartment before I even agreed to come back?"

"Yep! Isn't that smart-"

Lucy then slapped the dragon slayer upside the head before he could finish his sentence. "What if I said no you idiot!?"

"Well, then you would have no choice but to change your mind!" Natsu answered, laughing maniacally as he avoided Lucy's punches. He then ran out of the garden, still cackling, Lucy chasing after him. It truly was like old times.

* * *

Lucy sighed and plopped onto her now clear floor. Wiping sweat from her forehead, the girl glanced around her apartment. Everything was either gone, already on their way to Magnolia, or were packed into boxes. All of this was in the span of a day thanks to the help of Sabertooth. The mage then found her gaze locking onto Natsu, who was currently talking to Sting about something that probably wasn't important.

"You like him don't you, Lucy-san?" Yukino asked in a whisper as she sat by the celestial mage.

"W-What are you talking about, Yukino!?" Lucy sputtered, instantly feeling reenergized after hearing her question. "As if!"

"Why don't you just tell him?"

"You really are persistent and stubborn."

"Maybe it's a celestial mage thing since you are too."

Lucy sighed and smiled, returning her gaze back to the boy that occupied her thoughts. "He is too dense to know a thing about love. I doubt he's ever had a crush on a girl before. If I tell him it'll just ruin everything because he won't be able to return my feelings. It'll just be awkward and we would probably stop being friends."

"I don't know, I see the way he looks at you when you aren't looking. If I was experienced in that kind of stuff, I would tell you he likes you too."

"Yeah, yeah. What about you and Sting?"

Yukino's typically pale skin flushed immediately as she answered, "I'm working on it."

The two girls laughed together as Lucy replied, "Dragon slayers are dense, aren't they?"

"They sure are. So are you all ready to go back to Fairy Tail?"

"Almost. I just have to tell Jason."

* * *

Lucy walked towards Cool Publishing feeling anxious. How was her eccentric boss going to take this kind of news? Especially when he had apparently fallen for her. If only moving was as simple as she wished it was. Taking a deep breath, the girl walked into the building.

"Lucy? What are you doing here?" Jason asked with an eager smile. "You don't have any shifts today!"

"J-Jason," she started while playing with her fingers, "I need to tell you something."

"You are going back to Fairy Tail, right?" the reporter asked, though it was clear he knew the answer. His smile still remained.

"How did you know?"

"Like I said the other day when I confessed to you, you belong there. Not here in this dump. Don't worry about it, Lucy. I knew this was coming." The blonde reporter then made his way towards the girl, stopping just in front of her. "But is there a way to change your mind?" he asked as he leaned slowly for a kiss.

Lucy stepped back just in time and smiled sadly at her dear friend. Jason had always been so kind to her, making this much harder. "I'm sorry, Jason. I just-"

"I know, you don't want to be in a relationship or anything-"

"No. It's not that anymore. I realized something pretty recently that took me years to figure out. I _do_ want to be in a relationship. I want it pretty badly actually. I want to hold hands, kiss, all the stuff my characters do in my stories. I just want it with a certain guy, who sadly can't return these feelings."

Jason smiled sympathetically at the girl and chuckled. "Sucks, huh? Well, you're a cool girl, Lucy. I'm sure he'll come around eventually."

"Hopefully."

The two then hugged before Lucy had to leave for Magnolia. She was finally going back to Fairy Tail.

* * *

Natsu stood outside Cool Publishing and listened intently to Lucy's conversation with Jason. He didn't know what prompted him to follow her, he just knew he couldn't let the two be alone together. Just the thought of it made his gut twist uncomfortably. It took everything he had not to barge in and destroy Jason when he saw her leaning in to kiss Lucy. Luckily, the girl rejected him in time, which made Natsu smirk proudly for some unknown reason.

Then all of his pride vanished as the boy heard Lucy admit she was in love with somebody. Who could she be in love with? Natsu's brows furrowed as he thought about it. Could it have been Sting? They did live in the same city after all and he was definitely no stranger to the ladies. Or perhaps it was Gray? Those two always were a little _too_ buddy-buddy and he knew Gray used to have a thing for her.

 _"Wait, Lucy said her feelings aren't returned, so it can't be that idiot. Who the hell is it?"_

Natsu growled as he saw Lucy and Jason hugging but decided not to interrupt. He figured it was OK since Lucy already made it clear she didn't like him. Now Natsu's jealousy- wait, no, there's no way he could be jealous, right? Well, Natsu's _anger_ was now focused on this mysterious guy that had stolen Lucy's heart. Muttering curse words, he grumpily made his way back to the girl's apartment to finish everything.

" _Well, whoever it is isn't going to have a chance since I'm taking her back. Wait, why the hell do I care? Not like it has anything to do with me."_

Or so he thought.

* * *

"Natsu, get up! We're in Magnolia!"

The dragon slayer grunted in reply, slouching on one of the train's seats. It took every ounce of his being to not throw up. Finally, he sprinted off of the death machine and kissed the solid ground beneath him.

"Finally! I can't stand being on that thing!" he exclaimed, feeling better instantly.

"You're so pathetic," Lucy said as she led the way. She took in all of her surroundings and sighed in content. Crocus was by far too fancy and regal for her taste, reminding her of the mansion she used to reside in. Magnolia was just right. She was finally _home._ "Where are we going, by the way? I haven't signed the lease to my old apartment, or any apartment for that matter…"

"You're coming with us, Luce!" Natsu answered as he grabbed her luggage from her. "Just until you find a place!"

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed as he munched on a raw fish.

"Ugh, I can only imagine how messy your house is," Lucy said with a shudder. She imagined piles of fish bones and trash covering the floor.

"Whatever," Natsu replied. "Let's go already so we can see everyone! They've been dying to see you again!"

"I've been excited to see them too!"

With that, the three were running towards Natsu's house to drop everything off. Luckily, Happy and the Sabertooth exceeds already got most of Lucy's stuff earlier that day so they didn't have to carry that much. They just threw the suitcase in the house and rushed towards the guildhall.

Lucy's heart beat frantically inside of her chest. She was finally going to see everyone again. Though she was happy, the girl was also worried. What if everyone was upset with her for not coming back right away? Or for not even saying hello? Shaking her head, the celestial mage erased those negative thoughts from her mind.

Finally arriving, Lucy breathed deeply as her shaky arm opened the door. It was dead silent at first when everyone saw her. All of the negative thoughts from before instantly came back and she wanted to turn and run. Finally, Mira walked towards her with a smile warm enough to melt Gray's ice.

"Welcome home, Lucy," she said as she wrapped her arms around the blonde.

Lucy could no longer fight the urge to cry as tears streamed down her face. Smiling, she brought her shaking arms and wrapped them around her dear friend, who she hadn't seen in over a year and a half. One of the first friends she made, besides Natsu and Happy.

"I-I'm home."

 **AN:** Lucy is finally back in Fairy Tail! Now all that's left is getting these two to finally stop being dense :D Stick around! :)

 **MarSofTheGalaxies:** Thank you :D It was very short of a date though, wasn't it? And yeah haha that was my first ever hate on one of my stories, I was very surprised when I read it haha! I should've expected it though with a popular pairing like nalu! And apparently he hates on almost every nalu story haha. Thanks for the review :)

 **J.C:** Haha just made you wait a tad bit longer huh? :D And I'm so glad to inspire you :') I look forward to reading one of your own stories one day!

 **Satomi Rin:** Why hello there :D nalu is my absolute fav pairing in Fairy Tail- though I ship so many people in that show haha! I'm glad I _finally_ started writing for these two, they are so fun to write about! And thank you for the kind words! :D

 **Mavis Chase:** Hello again! :D And thank you lol I couldn't just let them get away with spewing such nonsense haha! And thanks omg I had such a hard time thinking of what they should get her and eventually just settled with a book haha! Thank you for another kind review! :D

 **Kyouya Sata:** Lol don't feel like a dumbnut! You aren't the only one confused about that, I got a couple messages about it haha! I definitely should've said so in the Author's Note hahaha!

 **Alexa:** I can guarantee something big is going to happen eventually! :D And lol I will definitely have to put in argument in this story somewhere because for some reason I LOVE making my OTPS fight hahaha! You are a very creative person btw, you should definitely write a story! I would definitely read it :)

 **MirrorFlame:** OMG I AM READING BETWEEN THE LINES. I LOVE THAT STORY. But I was actually referring to is an ulquihime story for Bleach (I don't remember the name and I think it was removed which is so sad because I loved that story! D:) It was a little over 100 chapters and it took years for the author to finish I remember being so amazed at their perseverance to finish haha! Is the story you're reading a nalu story because if so I wanna read it haha!

 **Sama775:** Lol it's just a cliché love story! :D and omg nice I love getting questions. The answer is: YES. I totally think she would ship nalu if she read the manga if they had like different characters and whatnot. She just would be too dense to see the similarities between that relationship and the one with her and natsu I think haha!

 **LALALALALALALALA:** THANK YOU SO MUCH! :D

 **12Rayne:** He would've gotten an action-packed book if it weren't for Happy haha! :D AND OMG YES I REMEMBER THAT I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE THAT! SUCKS FOR JASON! :D


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** So excited to be nearing the halfway point for this story! Mainly so that I can start an AU story, but also because I just love this one too :D

Chapter 11

Lucy let out a hearty laugh as she was surrounded by many of her old friends, explaining how her life had been since the guild disbanded. Everyone welcomed her with open arms and threw a party to celebrate her return. The guild began to reek of alcohol, though not even an hour had passed since the girl arrived, but she didn't mind. This was Fairy Tail, after all. This was her home. This was what she had been missing for over a year and a half.

"Juvia is happy Lucy is back! Though she is also upset that she has more competition now," the water mage announced.

"I-I told you it's not like that," Lucy deadpanned. It really was like old times, though she wished Juvia would get it through her head that she didn't have feelings for Gray. Perhaps if she told the girl who she truly loved she would drop it.

"Lucy, did you finally gain some experience?" Cana asked as she took a swig of whatever she was drinking. "Don't tell me you're still a virg-"

"CANA!" the celestial mage shouted as she leaped towards her and clasped her hand over her mouth. "I-I guess I have some experience…"

"Wait, are you serious!?"

At this point all of the females were surrounding the blonde to listen in on their conversation. Apparently Lucy gaining any romantic experience was too unbelievable.

"Well, I don't know if it's considered experience. I still haven't _done_ anything with anyone, if that's what you're asking. I just turned down a couple of guys."

Cana shrugged and replied, "Hey, as long as you are talking to boys."

Mira then grabbed Lucy's hands and stared into her chocolate-brown eyes. Mira's own magnificently blue eyes twinkled with eagerness as she asked, "Do you at least like someone, Lucy?"

The blonde mage awkwardly chuckled as she rubbed the back of her head. What was she supposed to say when the guy of her affections was just standing feet away? These girls also tended to have big mouths, besides Erza and Levy. Maybe she shouldn't let them know she's fallen head over heels for Natsu.

"Her silence is a definite yes," Levy said with a smirk. "C'mon, Lu-chan! You could tell us!"

"I-I can't!" Lucy replied as she attempted to hide her burning face.

Mira gasped and asked, "He's in this guild, isn't he?"

Lucy weakly nodded and slunk into her seat. Luckily, there were rumors that she was with at least five different guys in this guild, so it couldn't be _too_ easy to figure out. Still, hearing one of the girls call out Natsu's name in a guess worried her and she knew she had to leave before her face exposed the answer. Thus, she quickly got up and excused herself, ready to walk to who knows where.

"Hey, Lucy," Gray started, "where are you going?"

The celestial mage faced her old, dear friend with a smile. His dark hair was disheveled-probably from fighting with the other boys in the guild- and nearly all of his clothes were missing. She couldn't even see them in the guild hall. Just where did they always manage to disappear to? It was like they would vanish into thin air.

Lucy sighed and finally answered, "I'm just going to go for a walk. The girls are bombarding me with questions and I guess I need to escape before they figure things out. Wanna come with me?" They never did get the chance to talk when they came over since Erza and Natsu called dibs on her.

The two walked in a peaceful silence at first, enjoying the cool weather and the night sky. Eventually they began to talk about their lives and what they were doing after Fairy Tail disbanded. To Lucy's surprise, the boy had been living with Juvia before coming back! She had always hoped the two of them would end up together- partly so Juvia would stop pestering her about it- and it seemed they were getting closer and closer. A sudden pain coursed through the blonde's heart as she thought about her own love life. Her nonexistent love life that is.

Lucy let out a sigh as they sat on one of the benches in a nearby park. "So are you ever going to acknowledge Juvia's feelings for you? Especially now that the two of you lived together."

A tint of pink spread across the ice mage's face as he lamely answered, "I don't know… I'm not good at that kind of stuff. I don't know what it means to be in… you know… _love._ Even if I did love her, what the hell am I supposed to do then?"

"Sheesh, are all boys this dumb? You _date_ her. Take it slow and figure it out on the way."

"How do you know all this stuff when you've never had a boyfriend?"

"I guess I've just read enough to get a basic understanding of it."

Gray nudged the girl next to him and smiled at her. "So, enough about me. What about you? How are things with your love life?"

Lucy laughed and playfully nudged the boy back and answered, "What love life? As if someone like me could have something like that."

"What do you mean? You are Lucy. Everyone's got a crush on you!"

The girl sighed and stared up at the sky. The stars were twinkling magnificently and there was a slight breeze passing by. "Not the guy that I want."

"Ahh, so you've finally figured out your own feelings, huh?"

Lucy blinked once, then twice. "What do you mean?"

"You finally found out who you love. Took you long enough."

"Yeah, well, I wish I hadn't figured it out. This love of mine is unrequited and will stay that way until I die. I'll be forced to adopt a bunch of cats and be known as the crazy cat lady."

Gray chuckled and leaned back on the bench. Lucy wondered how he didn't freak out when his bare back collided with the cold touch of the bench.

Finally, the ice mage replied, "He's just an idiot. Give him time, even someone as stupid as him will come around."

Lucy laughed. "You talk as if you know who I'm in love with."

"Because I do. It's pretty obvious. I've known you've had a thing for Natsu for years." Gray noticed Lucy's jaw dropped and continued. "Erza knows too, and I wouldn't be surprised if Happy and Mira knew. Hell, even the whole guild might know you love the guy."

"Except for him, huh?"

"Just wait it out, Lucy. If he doesn't figure it out on his own soon, I'll nudge him in the right direction. I might have to use my fists to do so, though."

Lucy sighed contently, feeling as if she had an older brother. She was glad to have talked to Gray about this. It was as if a huge weight on her shoulders has finally been removed just confessing to someone- though it wasn't the person that held her affections. Gray then reached his hand towards the girl to help her up, which she accepted with a warm smile and a giggle. They then made their way back towards the guild while chatting about random things.

* * *

Natsu was in the process of punching Elfman in the face when he noticed Gray and Lucy leaving the guild. A snarl and low growl escaped his lips and he tried to go after them, only to be pulled back by Gajeel. The metal dragon slayer punched him in the face and began to laugh maniacally. The other male mages joined in the fight, making it impossible for Natsu to leave and follow the two.

Eventually, somebody- he wasn't sure who- managed to ruin Erza's cake, which resulted in her joining the fight and quickly putting it to an end by pulverizing everyone. Once Natsu was able to stand back up, his bones aching from the redhead's wrath, he made his way outside. His steps were wobbly and he was finding himself losing his balance, though he kept trudging towards the vanilla-lavender scent he remembered as Lucy's.

Finally, Natsu found the two sitting on a bench near the park, a little too close for his liking. It took every being in his body not to run towards them and drag Gray away from Lucy. The boy went close enough just to listen to their conversation. His eyes widened as he found they were discussing the topic of love. Apparently Lucy talked about this kind of stuff with everyone.

"You finally found out who you loved. Took you long enough," the dragon slayer heard Gray say.

"Yeah, well, I wish I hadn't figured it out. This love of mine is unrequited and will stay that way until I die. I'll be forced to adopt a bunch of cats and be known as the crazy cat lady," Lucy replied, making Natsu wonder who could be the one to not return her feelings.

The dragon slayer then listened as Gray talked about how stupid and dense this mystery person was for not knowing his feelings towards Lucy.

" _How could somebody not know when they are in love?"_ Natsu wondered, unintentionally zoning out of the two's conversation. " _Isn't it supposed to be obvious or something? And who the hell could reject Lucy's feelings? Whoever that guy is, is an idiot! I'm gonna have to teach him a lesson when I meet the guy."_

Natsu convinced himself that he was only thinking that because Lucy was his best friend and didn't like to see her hurt. It's not as if he could have feelings towards her, right? Natsu then tuned back into the conversation (sadly missing the part when Gray said that it was Natsu himself that Lucy loved). He then realized that Gray knew who this mystery guy was. Gray of all people knew who Lucy liked, but _he_ didn't? Apparently Erza knows, along with Happy and Mira. Just who the hell was this guy? He knew it was somebody in the guild since he was listening to Lucy's conversation with the rest of the girls, but if it wasn't Gray, then who was it?

Natsu was brought out of his thoughts when he heard the two getting up. Dashing back towards the guild, he made sure to beat them there so that they didn't know he was listening to their conversation. He waited patiently for the two to arrive, and when they finally did, the boy quickly grabbed Happy along with Lucy's hand and dragged them back towards their house. The curiosity over this mystery guy was killing him. He needed to know, and by all means he was going to find out.

* * *

"Natsu, this place is a mess!" Lucy screeched as she entered the small cottage. Clothes were piled like mountains on the floor, dirty dishes were piled in the sink and scattered around the house, and as she expected, fish bones were laying in the oddest of places. "Do you two ever clean this place up?"

"Nope!" Happy answered as he began to munch on a new fish. Quickly finishing it, he tossed the bones onto the floor and sat onto the couch.

Lucy marched towards the exceed and placed her hands on her hips. "Happy! You can't just toss your trash on the floor like that! Are you _trying_ to attract cockroaches? That's it! I'll just go stay at a hotel or something tonight!"

Natsu grabbed the girl before she could walk out the door and said, "No, Luce! You can't just leave! Look, we can all just clean the place up! Right, Happy?"

The blue cat reluctantly nodded and replied, "Aye…"

With that, the three quickly began to clean the small cottage- well, Lucy and Natsu were cleaning as Happy simply pretended to help. Despite the small size of the house, it took what seemed like forever to finish cleaning. Their backs ached from the hard work and they all plopped onto the floor with sighs after finally finishing.

"Hey, Lucy," Natsu started, unsure as to how to continue. Deciding to just rip it off like a band-aid, the boy bluntly asked, "Who do you love?"

The blonde nearly choked as she was drinking water when he suddenly asked the question she was hoping he would never ask. "W-Why do you want to know?"

"Well apparently everyone knows but me! I'm your partner, I should know!"

Happy's glance switched between the two amusedly. Both were so dense, it was surprising the two managed to stay alive this long.

Lucy sighed and answered, "I love a lot of people! I love you guys, my parents, my celestial spirits, everyone in Fairy Tail-"

"Oi, you know what I mean!" the dragon slayer interrupted, now sitting up and paying full attention to the girl. Her face was a deep shade of red and her arms were crossed in front of her chest in a pout. " _Cute- Wait, what am I thinking!?"_

"I-It doesn't matter who it is!"

"Why don't we make a game out of this then?" Natsu asked. He didn't know why he was so desperate to find out who this mystery guy was as if his life depended on it, but he knew it was killing him not knowing. "I get to ask three questions about him and you have to truthfully answer."

"And why the hell would I do that? What's in it for me?"

"…I'll take you shopping and buy you whatever you want."

Lucy's jaw dropped as she stared at the pink-haired mage in front of her. Whenever she asked him to go shopping with her, he would always turn her down saying it was too boring. And now here he was saying he would go _and_ pay for everything! It was like a dream come true.

"Fine," the girl finally said. "But how will you know I'm telling the truth?"

"I'm a dragon slayer, Luce! I can hear your heartbeat!"

"…Alright but I get to pass on questions I don't like!"

"Deal! Alright, what is the color of his hair?" Natsu smirked, knowing this was a brilliant question considering everyone in Fairy Tail seemed to have distinct hair colors.

Lucy's face reddened even more than before as she squealed, "PASS!"

"Damn it. Alright, what is his favorite food?"

"I-I don't think he has a favorite. He eats _everything."_

"Damn, that doesn't help me. OK, what team is he on in Fairy Tail?"

"P-Pass!"

"Damn it, Lucy! You are making this too difficult! What is his favorite color?"

"Red! I think…"

Natsu sighed and asked, "Lucy do you even know this guy!?"

"S-Shut up!" the girl replied.

"OK, last question. What is the first letter of his name?"

Lucy contemplated whether she should pass this question or not. Part of her wanted him to figure it out, another part of her didn't. Perhaps part of her believed Natsu felt the same. Even if he didn't, it would take some of the weight off her shoulders from keeping it a secret, just as it did with Gray. Then again, if he found out and took it the wrong way it could ruin their friendship…

Finally, the girl announced, "His name starts with the letter 'N.' Good luck figuring it out." With that, she was making her way towards the bathroom to get ready for bed when a hand gently grabbed her wrist, sending warmth throughout her body. She turned around to find Natsu looking at her with his signature grin.

"I'm going to figure it out, Luce! Just you wait!" he exclaimed determination gleaming in his eyes.

"I hope you do," she whispered in reply.

" _And I hope you love me back."_

 **AN:** I'll admit, a _tiiiiny_ part of me used to ship Gray and Lucy haha! But I really like the two of them as super close friends, like brother and sister! :D Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed the chapter :D

 **MarSofTheGalaxies:** Thank you! :D In regards to the pairing filter thing, what exactly is that and how do I do it haha? XD

 **J.C:** Well, now you got the conversation with Lucy and Gray! :D I'm glad someone was anticipating it because I really wanted the two to have a nice conversation! And lol don't worry about reviewing, there are a _lot_ of chapters hahaha! Thanks again :)

 **Kyouya Sata:** OMG believe me I am just as conflicted with it as you are. I mean, I know I wanted her to come back for sure in my story, but I wasn't sure if I wanted it to be this soon haha! In the end I went with it because I want the first half of the story to be getting her back to Fairy Tail, then the next to be all about the two discovering their feelings and whatnot (and some other stuff mixed in that I won't spoil :D) Thank you for the review :)

 **Satomi Rin:** Yes he is such a dimwit hahaha! It'll be even worse in the next chapter, just wait for it haha! :D (I think it's funny XD) And thank you :D

 **12Rayne:** HAHAHA NICE! That's just what I wanted hahaha! Don't worry, the time for a love confession will come... eventually ;) Thanks again :D

 **Mavis Chase:** Thank you so much! :D not gonna lie, I was pretty proud of the flower garden bit, I thought it was cute haha!

 **Mirror Flame:** I think I'm on chapter 101! If you're looking for an AU story, my ABSOLUTE FAV is Texting Fire. ITS SO CUTE. If not... I like Dragon's Guide to Claim Your Mate!


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** HELLO EVERYONE! So, I know it has been a long time since I updated, and the answer as to why is because I had a surprise vacation in Cali and then once I got back I only had a week left with my sister before she went back home so I devoted all of my time to her! But now that she is gone, I AM BACK! So, expect regular updates once again! I'm sorry for the super long wait, but I hope you enjoy this chapter :D **PS** : Important AN at the end!

Chapter 12

Natsu walked into the guild hall the next morning with fierce determination glinting in his eyes. Thrusting the door open, the boy skipped his normally loud greeting and began to scan the room. Many mages were scattered about, drinking, eating, or simply lounging around. Ignoring the calls of his two partners, the dragon slayer quickly entered and went to work trying to figure out who the mysterious guy Lucy was in love with is.

"Natsu, wait up!" Lucy called out as she jogged towards the guild, Happy following close behind. "Sheesh, what is wrong with him?"

"He's just trying to find out who you _loooove,"_ the blue exceed answered with a playful smirk. "Poor Natsu. He'll figure it out eventually."

"T-That reminds me, you know who it is, don't you?" Lucy asked, hoping the cat would say no. Much to her dismay, Happy simply chuckled and nodded. Sighing, the celestial mage continued, "Can I trust you not to tell him, Happy? I'm being serious!"

"Aye! Natsu is smart, though! He'll figure it out soon!"

"If you say so."

With that, the two were entering the building and found Natsu standing in the corner, seeming to be surveying everyone in the room. Lucy's sweat rolled down her forehead as she began to regret telling him the first letter of his name. After all, the only other person in the guild that's name starts with an "N" is…

"Nab!" Natsu suddenly cried out as he saw he chubbier, tanned man standing by the job board, though he hadn't gone on any jobs in years.

"Natsu? Did you need something?" he asked as the pink-haired mage approached him with something that looked like anger in his eyes.

"Yeah! What's your favorite color!?"

"My favorite color? Why do you want to know-"

"JUST ANSWER!"

Nab raised his arms in front of him in surrender as he answered, "I guess it would be red."

Natsu's eyes shot wide open and his breath hitched in his throat. It had to be Nab. His name started with "N", his favorite color was red, and he was in this guild. There could be no other option. But… how the hell could somebody like _Lucy_ like somebody like _Nab?_ Almost desperately, as if praying for a certain answer, the pinkette asked one last question.

"W-What's your favorite food?" Natsu finally let out.

"Hmm… I guess I don't really have a favorite food. I like everything-"

Natsu immediately hunched over, feeling his life-force being drained away. This was it. Nab checked off on everything. Lucy was in love with Nab. And for some reason, that made Natsu's heart painfully ring in his chest in disappointment. What was there to be disappointed about? He should be happy his best friend found love for someone! Unless…

" _Maybe I just want her to be in love with me,"_ the boy thought with wide eyes as he was currently laying on the floor, ignoring whatever Nab was saying at the moment. " _That's crazy! She's my partner, there's no way I would want her to be in love with me! Why would I want her in love with me anyways? Not like I love her or anything!"_

"Natsu, are you alright?" the said boy heard next to him.

The dragon slayer quickly stood up and faced the all too familiar blonde, his cheeks scorching from his previous thoughts and the sudden sound of her voice. Their faces were close once again, something that he didn't think he would ever get used to, along with the insanely fast pace of his heart. Golden locks of hair perfectly framed the girl's face as her long, black eyelashes fluttered cutely. Her brown eyes were like pools of rich chocolate. His own eyes were drawn towards her lips. Her pink, plump lips that were sparkling-

"Natsu?" Lucy called out again as she waved a hand in front of his face, pulling him out of his thoughts. "What's wrong with you? Your face is all red and you seem so out of it!"

" _Damn it, I think I'm in love with Lucy."_

"I-It's nothing!" Natsu fibbed, his face still matching the color of his hair. "Hey, Lucy, why don't you find a job for us to do?"

With that, the boy ran off towards the bar and slouched in the seat, releasing a heavy sigh. Letting his head rest on the counter, he began to think again.

" _Alright, so I might be in love with Lucy. That's just fucking great. My partner of all people. And she's in love with Nab, who apparently doesn't love her back. If only Igneel was here to help me with this."_

"Natsu, are you alright?" the dragon slayer heard from in front of him.

"I'm fine, Mira," he answered, looking up to face her.

The silver-haired mage smiled gently at the distressed boy and placed some appetizing food in front of him. She giggled as he instantly perked up and inhaled the chicken and released a breath of fire afterwards. Mira then watched as Natsu's gaze went back towards the blonde near the job board. Lucy was currently talking to Nab about requests, which clearly upset the pink-haired mage. Natsu let out a low growl.

" _Oh, I get it now!"_ Mira thought with a bright smile. " _Finally I can have some fun!"_

"Hey, Natsu," Mira began, gathering the dragon slayer's attention once again, "how are you and Lucy?"

Natsu's face was quickly set ablaze as he sputtered, "W-What are you talking about? S-She's just my partner!"

"I mean, do you _like_ her?"

"M-Mira! Stop asking that! I always tell you that we are just best friends!"

"Oh, that's OK then!" Mira then smiled devilishly, though Natsu didn't seem to notice. "You know, I think she looks better with Nab anyways."

Mira's blue eyes widened significantly as she felt an intense heat engulfing her. She turned to Natsu, who was emitting the heat and was staring at her with slit eyes, as if he was using Dragon Force. Clearly, she struck a nerve.

"She does not belong with somebody like him," Natsu finally stated, his voice low and menacing.

"Well then, who _does_ she belong with?"

Natsu sat silently in his seat, the heat dying down and his eyes returning to normal- much to Mira's relief. Keeping his gaze locked on the blonde in the corner, the boy wondered about the question himself. It was only about five minutes ago that he discovered his feelings for her and there was no way in hell he was going to act on them.

"Hey Mira…" he then started, a frown tugging at his lips. "What would you do if you liked- or I guess _loved-_ your best friend and knew that they liked somebody else?"

The blue-eyed mage eyed him curiously and asked, "What makes you think Lucy doesn't like you?"

"I didn't say anything about Lucy! Just answer the question!"

Mira smiled gently and answered, "Well, if I was truly in love with my best friend, I would be patient and wait. I would know that we are meant to be and that they'll eventually come around."

Natsu glanced at the silver-haired girl and gave a bright smile. "Thanks, Mira!"

With that, he walked towards his partner and greeted her with an equally bright smile. There was no reason to be worried, they were best friends! He definitely wouldn't let his feelings ruin anything. Glancing at all of the jobs, Natsu picked one that was not too difficult nor too easy and had an amazing reward. Tugging on Lucy's hand, he gave a glare to Nab- who was definitely confused by it- and went back to Mira with the paper.

"Mira, we are going on a job!" he announced.

"A job?" Gray asked as he walked up to the group, Erza trailing behind him.

"Ugh, not you, Stripper. I just wanted to go with Lucy."

Lucy's face immediately went pink, which did not go unnoticed, except by Natsu of course.

"Do not be ridiculous," Erza said, snatching the paper and walking out the guild. "We are a team, we shall all go."

Natsu groaned and towed along, Happy landing on his shoulder for a ride. Lucy giggled and ran up beside the two. Looking at the girl beside him, Natsu took in the joyful features on her face and was taken aback by her sheer beauty. Her golden hair was tamed perfectly while her outfit showed off all of her curves. He had always known she was attractive, but damn was it hitting him hard now that he knew he loved her.

" _I'm surprised I didn't realize it until now. Man, I must be as dumb as Nab for not realizing it!"_

* * *

Natsu jumped out of the train and happily fell onto the ground. Solid, unmoving ground. He really needed to get ahold of his motion sickness because rides were becoming more and more unbearable each time. Grabbing Lucy's hand- who had just walked up beside him- he sprinted off towards the direction of their client's house. Luckily, it was only a ten minute walk- or jog, I should say- until they reached a huge house that was in good condition.

The paint was a pastel yellow color and there were no signs of it chipping. The hedges were perfectly cut and the flowers swayed gently in the breeze. The lawn was mowed and there were children toys scattered around, making Natsu imagine what his kid would look like if Lucy and him-

" _Whoa, don't think about that! Just go talk to the client!"_

Knocking on the door, they were greeted by a maid that quickly ushered them inside upon learning they were Fairy Tail mages. Leaving them in the living room, the maid excused herself and brought back a couple- who were clearly the ones that owned the house.

"Hello," the lady greeted with a sad smile. She looked to be in her early-thirties with dark brown hair and brown eyes. "My name is Amber and this is my husband, Johnathon."

"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you," Erza replied with a warm smile.

"As it is with you," the older gentleman said with a bow. "Though I wish I didn't have to resort to this."

"May I ask what you need help with? The flyer did not specify."

"It's our son," the woman answered, tears forming in her brown eyes, "he was kidnapped last night and we are too frail to get him back. We need your help. Please, help us get our son back!"

Natsu smiled brightly at the couple, who were now crying in each other's arms, and replied, "Of course! We are Fairy Tail mages, don't worry about it! I'm a dragon slayer, so I have a great sense of smell. We need to know where you were when the kidnapping happened so I can track them down! I could also use something of your son's so that it's easier to track down his scent specifically."

The older woman sniffled and replied, "We'll take you to the spot! But I should warn you, they are also mages, strong ones at that!"

"Wait," Gray interjected, "we should hear the story first before we go so we can learn about their powers. We can't just rush in."

"Alright," Johnathon said, nodding his head. "We were going on a walk when it happened. Four mages jumped out of the bushes and surrounded us. I didn't have guards follow us that day because I figured we would be fine. How foolish I was… Anyways, I'm afraid I don't remember as much as I would like, for I was knocked unconscious."

He then continued, "One man is very fast, faster than light. He is the one that grabbed my son and knocked me out. Another is a woman. I am not sure of her magic, she didn't do anything. There is another man, who slows time, making it even easier for the faster mage to attack- though it's not like we have any magical abilities to fight back anyways. Lastly is their leader. He uses a weird, portal type of magic. He got them all out of there before the authorities could arrive."

"Why exactly are they after your son?" Lucy hesitantly asked, not wanting to pain the older couple more than they already were.

"It is more than likely to keep him as hostage so we give them money. I should have assigned guards..."

Lucy tensed as painful memories flashed through her mind. There were multiple times when she was held hostage for her father's money. Hell, that's why she was kidnapped by Phantom Lord not too long ago. Just imagining a young child going through what she did made the girl's blood boil.

"It's not your fault, sir," Lucy stated as she got up. "Let's hurry and bring back your son!"

With that, the seven of them were off to start the mission. After about a fifteen minute jog on a nearby trail, they all stopped when Amber told them that they had arrived at the approximate area of the kidnapping. Natsu inhaled a large whiff of their son's scent and glumly shook his head.

"I can't find his scent beyond this point," he sadly announced, feeling utterly useless. Just what good of a dragon slayer was he if he couldn't catch a scent?

"It is probably because the leader used portal magic," Erza replied, taking in their surroundings. Just then, something scurried in a bush and she immediately requipped into her armor. Four people jumped out from the bushes, three with menacing smiles on their faces.

"I knew they would come back," the female mage announced. "Who knew they would bring some Fairy Tail meat with them?" She was wearing a magenta leotard and had long, orange hair that flowed beyond her shoulders. Her eyes were a stunning shade of emerald, though they held malicious intent in them.

"Silence, Michiko," a man ordered. He was dressed in all black with a black cape similar to Gildart's covering him. His face was masked, though his eyes were left uncovered, showing off their red color. "If you want your son back, return here with all of your money. And no mages this time."

"To hell with that!" Natsu exclaimed as he lunged towards the leader with flames around his fists. He was then kicked hard in the gut by one of the male mages and was sent rolling back into a tree. The culprit was definitely the one the clients described as fast. He was even faster than Racer.

"Natsu!" Lucy worriedly cried out.

Pulling out her keys, she summoned Loke while Erza and Gray began attacking as well. The lion spirit went to work trying to fight the enemies when Lucy felt a sharp pain in her right arm. Looking down, she was surprised to see a gash on it, blood slowly oozing down her arm. Wincing at the pain, the blonde looked around to find Michiko grinning at her while licking her nail, which was dripping with Lucy's blood.

" _How did she-"_

Jumping to the side, Lucy was just barely able to dodge another assault from Michiko. The girl was surprised to see that her nails, which were painted a bright shade of pink, extend out towards her.

" _That's how she got me!"_

Placing Virgo's key above her chest, she used Star Dress to begin her counterattack. Digging under the ground, the girl came behind Michiko and kicked her in the back of the knee, then tackled her onto the ground. The two female mages wrestled, Lucy winning easily as she was using Virgo's strength. Too bad she forgot about the nails. Michiko laughed maniacally as she extended her sharp nails, piercing Lucy's side. The blonde yelped with pain.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried out, temporarily forgetting about his battle with the fast mage.

"I-I'm fine!" the girl managed to reply. She was now breathing heavily and her vision began to blur, though she didn't give up. "Loke! Use your own power so that I can summon two spirits and also use Star Dress!"

Erza and Gray paused their assaults on the enemy, though still made sure to defend themselves, as they took in the girl's appearance. Her tank top was quickly becoming drenched with blood and her golden hair was plastered to her face with sweat.

"Lucy, there's no way you can have three spirits out and use another spell!" Erza said, trying to block an attack from another man, who effectively slowed down her attacks.

"What is that anyways?" Gray asked. "You get their abilities? That has to take a lot of magical power!"

"Don't worry about me, you guys!" Lucy replied. Taking out two golden keys, she summoned both at the same time with mere waves of her hands. Cancer and Gemini appeared in flashes of light. "Cancer, you hold her off while Gemini and I do the spell!"

The crab spirit went to work at cutting the incoming nails, effectively defending Lucy and Gemini, though the nails would just keep coming and growing back with each cut. Little did Lucy know that the enemy's leader was eyeing her and watching her every move.

"Michiko, enough. Let's take that girl with us," he announced, surprising everyone around them.

"As if I'm going to let you take Lucy!" Natsu cried out, lunging towards the leader, only to be stopped by Michiko's nails piercing into his skin.

Lucy was startled when a harsh kick was delivered into her gut, causing her to hunch over. She was having difficulty breathing when the fast mage, whose name was still unknown, picked her up and immediately ran beside their leader. Erza and Gray shouted, trying to attack when the other mage slowed down their moves so that Michiko could attack the two of them, rendering them unconscious.

Amber and Johnathon watched the scene unfold, horrified at what just happened. The strong mages they hired were so quickly defeated, all of them unconscious now and one of them being taken away, just like their son.

The leader turned to face the two and said, "Bring the money here at midnight or else your son will die."

With that, he created a portal, blinding them with the light. Natsu's eyes barely managed to open as he was slouched against a tree. A piercing pain pulsed through him as he saw stab marks in his stomach. That isn't what hurt him, however. What hurt the boy was seeing the enemies leave, the woman he loved in their hands, disappearing into the portal. He had just lost Lucy and had no idea how to get her back.

 **AN:** So, I got too impatient and decided to post my new AU nalu story before finishing this one! In case any of you are interested, here's a summary: "AU. After transferring to Fairy Tail High School, Lucy Heartfilia finds herself content with her newest and only friends: Erza and Levy. However, with their attempt to bring her out of her shell, she finds herself in a group chat with her two friends, a stripper, a crazy jealous girl, an alcoholic, and a pyro who just so happens to tear down her walls and make her heart race."

 **MarSofTheGalaxies:** Oh sweet! Thank you so much for that! I didn't even know that was a thing haha! :D

 **MirrorFlame:** Oh I was actually reading that! I need to catch back up on it! And in regards to the message you sent me: YES THEY ARE BY THE SAME AUTHOR. SHE IS SO AMAZING! Virtual Flames is great, but Texting Fire will always be my absolute fav nalu story. Everything is just perfection! :D

 **Mavis Chase:** Thank you haha! Part of me was scared it was a little childish but I'm glad someone liked it! :D

 **12Rayne:** LOL I WAS DYING WHEN I READ YOUR REVIEW BECAUSE THATS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED WITH NAB. Sooo funny hahaha! I swear he'll stop being dense... eventually...

 **Alexa:** Thank you so much as always! :D And yay I'm glad you are trying to write a story! I know for sure you will come up with ideas though, you are super creative and have been giving me a lot of ideas! I will definitely review when you finally make it :)

 **Vanitas' Queen21:** I ask myself all the time when I watch the anime haha! Don't worry, he'll stop being dense, though it'll take a while to get there lol! Thanks for the review! :)

 **J.C:** I'm glad you liked their conversation, as I did too! I absolutely love the friendship between Gray and Lucy (and yes I shipped them a little bit in the beginning too but just like you said their sibling relationship fits the best!) And thank you for the unending support! :D

 **Sama775:** He really is dense haha! Both of them are! But at least he's finally realized his feelings for Lucy! :D That's a great start!


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:** WOW 100 REVIEWS ALREADY THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!I am so happy nobody thought that I was rushing with the nalu because I was really worried that I was! Anyways, I posted the first chapter to my new AU nalu story and I accidentally put a chapter from one of my ulquihime stories (how embarrassing). So if you saw that, I am sorry and I fixed it! I hope you all give that story a shot as well! Don't worry, I'll keep updating this one too :)

Chapter 13

Lucy's eyes fluttered open and she let out a painful groan. Her throat was dry, definitely from dehydration and it felt as if she was kicked in the gut ten times. Slowly turning her head, the blonde took in her surroundings, memories of what happened finally clicking in her mind. The room she was in was small and dirty. The walls and floor were made of cracked cement and she could see bugs crawling around, making her body quiver from disgust. One wall was made of bars as if it were a jail cell. The mage then heard whimpering from behind her, causing her to jump up and wince from feeling her injuries all over again. In the corner behind her was a young boy with shaggy brown hair, his head buried in his arms as he cried.

" _This must be the clients' son,"_ Lucy thought as she stared at the boy.

"Hello there," she said, her voice raspy as she forced herself to smile. "What's your name?"

The young boy reluctantly lifted his head to meet her gaze and answered, "Lucas."

"It's nice to meet you, Lucas. My name is Lucy. Your parents hired me and my friends to bring you back. Don't worry, I'm going to get you out of here, I promise!"

"And how do you expect to do that, Miss Lucy Heartfilia?" a new voice rang from behind the girl.

Lucy turned around facing the barred wall and found none other than the enemy's leader staring back at her. His blood-red eyes pierced her soul and sent shivers throughout her body. The blonde then found her keys in his hand, sending both rage and fear throughout her.

"Give. Those. Back," Lucy seethed, her teeth grinding in anger. "Give me back my keys, or else."

"Or else what?"

"I will kill you, that's what."

"You cannot expect to be able to defeat me while I have your keys."

"Watch me."

Lucy's body began to glow as magic circles appeared in her eyes. She began to mumble, chanting the words she needed for one of her most powerful spells. It had been a while since the mage had used Urano Metria, but she knew there was no time to be hesitant. Instead, Lucy was glad that she spent so much time practicing the spell with Gemini and Loke. Now, she no longer needed to summon Gemini to use the spell, though she still would if she had her key to conserve some of her own magical power.

When the spell finally activated, Lucy felt a decent amount of her magical power diminish. The girl could never see anything when she used the spell, her vision always tended to blackout. She was told that the attack was unbelievably bright and wished she could see it for herself. Thus, the girl was highly startled to find that the enemy was left standing unscratched in front of her.

"H-How did it not affect you?" she asked, her chocolate brown eyes wide with fear.

"Oh, you mean that silly little spell of yours?" the man asked. Lucy had a feeling he was smirking underneath his mask. "I simply surrounded your body with portals and sent all of the planets somewhere else. Now, how about we have a civil discussion, shall we?"

"What the hell do you have to say to me? Why did you even take me in the first place?"

"It's simple. Celestial mages are extremely rare these days, especially since many of them had been massacred, what? A year ago? Maybe two years ago? Anyways, you could imagine my shock when I found one in front of me that had nine of the twelve zodiac keys, can't you? Just one of these keys could be sold for an extremely hefty reward."

"Don't you dare even think about doing that!" Lucy cried out as she lunged towards the bars. She grabbed onto them and tried to pull them apart with all of her might but it was to no avail. She was utterly stuck.

"Hush now, woman. Anyways, I wondered how it was possible one measly girl could have all of these rare keys, so I decided to take you with me. I looked into you, and I'm sure you know by now what I found out, right? You are none other than Lucy Heartfilia, daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia! One of the wealthiest families in all of Fiore!"

"So what? You planning on holding me hostage like Lucas? Sorry to break it to you, but my parents are dead, you can't get any money off of me."

"Now, now, just let me speak. We haven't even properly introduced ourselves. It is nice to meet you, Lucy. My name is Takeshi. It is a pleasure to meet you-"

Lucy used all of her courage and spit right into her captor's face. She smirked as she saw disgust flash across his features. Not even bothering to stifle a laugh, the blonde burst out with laughter until she felt her head being slammed against the bars. Takashi had reached in and clutched her hair to pull her towards him and slam her head into the hard metal.

"That wasn't very ladylike of you," Takeshi stated, his voice low and menacing. "Anyways, I am well aware your parents are dead. Such a shame. But that doesn't mean I can't get money from other people. How much do you think that little guild of yours would pay to get you back?"

Lucy freed herself from Takeshi's clutches as she replied, "Fairy Tail will destroy you for picking a fight with us! Just you watch!"

"Oh really? Because the three we defeated earlier were apparently of high ranks in your guild and we managed to defeat them rather easily."

Lucy was about to retort a comeback when she heard Lucas crying once again. The girl had forgotten he was even there. Guilt ran through her as she remembered promising to help him out, but being easily beaten. She then faced Takeshi once again.

"Is that all you want from me?" she asked, venom lacing every word. "If so, you are dumber than I thought."

"Of course not. That was simply phase one," Takeshi answered. "You aren't just good for money. You make a great hostage because it seems everybody loves you. Once they come with the money, we are going to kill all of them. Once the strongest guild in all of Fiore is massacred, we will target the Council. We'll kill each and every one of them and free everyone they have locked up so they may become my minions. Then I will have complete control of Fiore. Soon after, I will mobilize an army and I will take over the surrounding countries and eventually the world."

Lucy responded by sighing and saying, "That is such a ridiculous plan, I don't know if I should laugh or cry at your stupidity."

"Don't worry, darling. You won't be alive to see the end of my plan anyways. You won't be able to laugh or cry ever again. You are nothing but a stepping stone in the right direction. However, if you remain a good hostage I _may_ keep you alive and use you for experiments or sell you into slavery. Up to you."

With that said, Takeshi turned around and walked away to who knows where. Lucy used this opportunity to check on Lucas once again. To her surprise, the child wasn't physically harmed in anyway, though this event was sure to leave him traumatized for a while.

"Don't worry, Lucas. My friends will save us," the blonde finally said as she let the boy cuddle up with her. "Your parents are so excited to see you again. I'm sure you want to see them too, right? Then you have to be brave, okay Lucas?"

Lucy smiled gently as the little boy nodded his head and wiped away the tears that were streaming down his face.

" _Now, all I can do is wait. You better hurry, Natsu."_

* * *

Natsu's eyes slowly opened and he was staring blankly at a plain, white ceiling. The dragon slayer tried sitting up, only to feel a sharp pain in his stomach. Immediately, he remembered what had happened and his heart stopped. Lucy was taken and he didn't have any way of knowing where to. Ignoring the pain in his stomach, achy bones, and throbbing head, the boy forced himself to sit up and take in his surroundings.

The room was rather large in size and had a fancy chandelier to dimly light it. Floral wall paper and crisp, white furniture gave the room a regal and elegant look. Gray and Erza were nowhere in sight, though he did find a small note on the nightstand beside the bed he inhabited. Reading it, the pink-haired boy discovered that his friends were downstairs waiting for him, though it wasn't like he needed it considering he could smell them from miles away.

Natsu limped down the stairs and toward the room his team first talked to their clients. The dragon slayer could hear the group of people talking in hushed tones, probably so as to not wake him up. When he entered the room, his heart shattered as he found Lucy still wasn't back. He had hoped Erza and Gray went to retrieve the girl while he was sleeping.

Erza was the first to spot him and gave him a sad smile. "How are you feeling, Natsu?"

"Where's Lucy?" he replied, completely ignoring the red-head's question.

"As you are aware of, she was taken. We need you to get some rest and heal so that we can find her."

Natsu's body instantly started to heat up and he began to breathe heavy. Just how did she expect to find Lucy when nobody knows where they went? Feeling something plop into his chest, the boy looked down to find Happy flying into him. It was clear that he was also distressed about their missing partner. Thus, Natsu did everything he could to calm his nerves. Thinking rationally was their only option, after all.

"Alright," he began, "how are we going to find her?"

"I have come up with a suggestion while you were sleeping," Amber answered with a solemn look. "Before they left and while you were all unconscious, their leader told us to come with money in return for our son. I believe that is why he took your friend: so that he may hold her as hostage as well. If you come with us, I'm sure you'll run into them again."

"You can't seriously be thinking about listening to their threats, are you?" Gray chimed in, finally joining the conversation.

"If it is for our son's life, we will gladly give up anything," Johnathon answered. "If you truly cared for your friend, I imagine you would do the same."

"No, we won't do that," Natsu stated. "And neither will you. We are going to meet them there and tell them we refuse their offer. Then we have a rematch."

"You couldn't beat them before, what makes you think you can now!? I'm not letting you risk my son's life!"

"Don't worry about it," Natsu replied as he began to walk back towards his room. "They took something of mine and now I'm angry. I won't lose this time. I'm all fired up." With that, the dragon slayer marched back into his room to get whatever rest he could before their next showdown.

Erza sighed as she watched Natsu's retreating figure finally vanish from her sight. "I apologize for his behavior. He and Lucy are best friends- probably even more, though they don't care to admit it. He is right, though. They took one of our friends, now we have to pay them back a hundred times more. Not only that, but now we have experience with their fighting abilities, making it easier for the next confrontation."

"I hate saying this, but I agree with Natsu," Gray added. "I refuse to be beaten again and let them hurt Lucy- especially with all the work we went through bringing her back."

"Aye!" Happy exclaimed.

The older couple stared at the mages in front of them, knowing that they were right. Even if they did give them all of the money in the world, they would probably still end up killing Lucas along with them themselves. Their only option was to fight.

"My, my," Amber started, "you kids surely are a rowdy bunch, aren't you? Alright, we'll go along with your plan. What do we do first?"

"First," Erza began, "we come up with a strategy."

 **AN:** I am sure you are all disappointed in the lack of nalu that is sure to come, but just wait it out! This arc is really just to show the strength they've (mainly Lucy) gotten while they were gone and some other things I won't spoil! :D

 **Mavis Chase:** I am so glad you don't think I was rushing it! And I know, she just had to be taken when they were figuring out their own feelings haha! Thank you for another review! :D

 **Fire Shifter:** Chapter 1: Thank you :) Chapter 5: Yes I love Erza controlling things haha! Chapter 7: Thank you that is my personal favorite chapter hahaha! Chapter 12: Haha thank you for the support! Hope it wasn't too long of a wait! :)

 **12Rayne:** Hahaha yes, poor Nab! I personally love Natsu being a dense idiot and I just had to make him think it was Nab hahaha!

 **Thebooknerdgeek:** Thank you! And it really all depends on what you consider to be a damsel in distress! If you want her to be the one killing all four of the mages, that isn't happening haha sorry! BUT! Even though it seems like she's just some damsel in distress, I can guarantee that won't be happening because I personally love Lucy's strength and I agree that she shouldn't just be some weak hostage! :D Thank you for the review! :)

 **MirrorFlame:** Hmm other ships... I love Jerza and I love Gale! Now, this is an unpopular opinion, but I don't actually ship Gruvia as much as other people do! Like yes, I do think they are cute together and if they get together then yay! But at the same time I don't love it like I love the other ships! I also ship Mira and Laxus haha I think they are cute! :D What about you? :)

 **Alexa:** I'm sorry to keep you waiting for so long! I am so glad I still have your support! :D

 **Guest:** Thank you for the review :D


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** Hello again everyone! I have a short, filler type chapter for you all today! Don't worry, after this is when it gets going! I hope you enjoy :D

Chapter 14

The group of now six- thanks to the fact that Lucy was taken- was now running back towards the scene of confrontation. Their bodies ached and their magical power still had not been completely refilled, but they ran with all of their might. It was now or never. If they didn't make it in time, both Lucy and Lucas would be killed, and they definitely couldn't allow that to happen.

However, despite their earlier conversation, they were unable to make any real battle strategy. After all, there was no other option other than to fight. The only thing they could decide was the opponents. Erza would take both Michiko and the fast mage, Gray would handle the mage that slowed things down, and Natsu would deal with their leader while Happy would stay put with the clients. Erza argued she should take on their leader considering Natsu's injuries were far worse than hers, but the pink-haired mage refused to let anyone else battle him. He was too determined to be the one to bring Lucy back.

It was nearing 11 o'clock at night when they finally reached their destination. There was a chilly breeze in the air, but none seemed to notice. In fact, they couldn't even feel it thanks to the heat that had been radiating off of a certain dragon slayer since they started their journey. Natsu stood with his feet firmly planted into the soil, waiting for the enemies to arrive. He knew it would be best to keep his temper under control, but damn was it hard. Who knew his love for Lucy would get him this fired up?

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in front of the group. All of them took their battle stances, Natsu already raring to attack. Finally, the light dimmed and they found that it was Loke instead of the enemy. After all, they did have about an hour longer until they were supposed to arrive.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping Lucy!?" Natsu asked, wanting to pounce at the spirit.

"Take it easy, Natsu," Loke replied, putting his hands in front of him in surrender. "She told me to come here."

"Lucy did?" Erza asked. "Since you're here, she must be close by!"

The lion spirit sighed as he shook his head. "Sadly, that is not the case. Lucy's grown a lot stronger over the past year and a half. While before I was only able to summon myself near her, I am now allowed to roam a _much_ greater distance."

"So she's not anywhere near us?"

"Not at all. That portal guy really does have some impressive magic."

"Can you take us to her?"

"You would never reach them in time if I did."

"Why did Lucy send you here then?" Gray inquired. It seemed he had already lost most of his clothes on the journey there.

"To tell you of their plan and to help you fight, of course. She already figured you would all come back to this spot at midnight, but apparently their leader confirmed her suspicions."

"What do they want with Lucy?" Natsu finally asked. His fists were clenched so tightly, the others feared his palms would start bleeding soon. There was also the undying heat. Taking a closer look, they could even see that his eyes were slit and there was something akin to… _scales_ growing on his skin. Though they were much different than his Dragon Force. These were bright red and it made them aware he was out for blood.

Loke took note of his appearance, yet continued with his nonchalant manner. "His plan is actually not that bright. Just world domination. While his ultimate plan is highly unlikely, the fact remains that Lucy and the child are in danger. He plans on blackmailing you into giving all of your money, then killing all of you."

"As we expected," Amber spoke up. The older woman's body was shaking.

"Well, they aren't getting anything from us," Natsu began, "but we _are_ getting Lucy back."

Loke gave the pink-haired boy a knowing smile. While he knew Natsu cared deeply for all of the members of Fairy Tail, it was always clear to everyone that Lucy was more important. Now only seemed to further prove that. Loke had never seen the dragon slayer so angry.

" _I guess I'll entrust my owner with him,"_ Loke thought. "Anyways, I would have helped her escape the cell she is being held captive in, but the truth remains that we can't defeat all four of them on our own while protecting the kid."

"You think you would be able to if Lucas wasn't there?" Gray asked, smirking at Loke's confidence.

Loke pushed his shades further up in annoyance at their doubt of his master's ability. "As a matter of fact, I do believe Lucy could. You don't know the amount of training she did with _all_ of her spirits. She and Yukino have actually been training on the most absolute celestial spell known to man. While Yukino is no doubt strong, only she was able to master it. In fact, she is the second human that possesses the capability of the spell."

Gray whistled and asked, "What kind of spell is it?"

" _That_ is a secret. Anyways, even if we weren't protecting the child, Lucy still would've made me come here to tell you everything."

Erza smiled and replied, "She is truly a stubborn woman."

"No doubt about that."

"Alright," Natsu finally began, "then we'll just have to beat these guys for her. Loke, you stay with her and make sure nothing happens."

The lion spirit nodded, and with a bow he vanished with a bright light into the spirit world. The remaining mages were glad to hear that their dear friend was alright, and now they had the motivation to fight with all they had to save her. After all, Lucy wasn't the only one to learn new tricks.

"Once we get Lucy back, I'm going to make her show me her new spell," Gray announced with an eager smirk.

"Yes, it must be a rather strong spell with how Loke was talking about it and even keeping it a secret," Erza replied. "Perhaps I shall train with her."

"You won't get the chance to because I'm going to fight her when we get back," Natsu announced with a mischievous grin. He was feeling much better knowing Lucy was alright. "For now, we wait."

* * *

Loke materialized with another bright glow in front of his master. The remainder of his magical power was quickly seeping away as he had been using much of it to warn the others, though the lion spirit continued to trudge forward. He took in the appearance of his master. Her blonde hair was matted against her skin and there was dry blood all over her body. She was curling up against Lucas, probably so as to comfort the child and keep him warm.

Gently prodding the sleeping blonde to awaken her, Loke gently whispered, "Don't you think it's a little irresponsible to be sleeping in the enemy's den?"

Lucy groaned as she sat up, careful as to not wake up Lucas as she answered, "I guess you're right. Did you tell the others?"

"Of course I did. Don't you think it's time to get out of this cell now?"

Lucy sighed as she stood up and stretched. She winced at the pain she was feeling in her side from being stabbed by Michiko's nails, but could only hope that it wouldn't get infected despite the fact that she had no bandages or rubbing alcohol and was trapped in a grimy cell.

"Not yet," the celestial mage finally answered in a hushed tone so that her captors couldn't hear her. "Not with Lucas here and the four of them still here. I can't put him in danger and the only way I could beat all four of them at once is to use _that_ spell, and even then I don't know if I can fully control it without hurting Lucas too. Besides, you told me not to use it unless I absolutely have to like the situation with Tartaros. We just have to wait."

"Wait for what exactly?"

"For them to go to Natsu and the others at midnight."

Loke sighed and ran his fingers through his orange locks. "How do you know they aren't going to bring you too?"

"Doesn't matter either way. I have a feeling they won't bring me, though. After all, they didn't bring Lucas when we first encountered them. Even if they did, it just gives me a greater chance to fight with the others."

"That is a great plan, Princess. However, my magical power is running out and I'm not sure if I can help you escape later."

"Then go now and rest. I will need your help."

Loke smiled as he ruffled the blonde's hair, earning a pout from the girl. Their plan had many holes in it, but it was their only option after all. Thus, with a salute, the leader of the zodiac went through his gate and back into the celestial spirit world to regain some of his missing strength.

Lucy was left alone once again. She would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid at the moment. How could she not be? She was trapped in a cell, losing a lot of blood, and was responsible for a child she had no means of protecting. All she could do was hope her friends were alright and were hopefully having a better time at coming up with a plan than she was.

* * *

Natsu was leaning against an oak tree when he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Luckily, his strong nose informed him that it wasn't the enemy coming early and was in fact one of his allies and despite what he normally said, one of his closest friends.

"Still worried about Lucy?" Gray asked as he plopped on the space next to the dragon slayer.

"Are you not worried about her?" the pink-haired boy asked in return, not sparing the ice mage a glance.

"Alright, I guess it was a stupid thing to ask. But you know, sitting here and moping ain't gonna fix it."

"Shut up, Ice Prick."

"Make me."

"Too lazy."

Gray chuckled as he let himself lean back against the tree as well. Having lost his shirt, he felt the bare bark against his back. "You're probably more screwed up about this considering you love her and all."

Natsu choked on his spit while his face turned into a bright pink. He then sputtered, "W-What the hell are you talking about!? Me!? Like Lucy!? I'm Natsu the great dragon slayer! I don't like anyone!"

"Not like. _Love._ Just admit it already. It's annoying watching you play dumb. You're already dumb enough as it is."

It took everything Natsu had not to start throwing punches at the boy sitting next to him. Instead, he asked, "Why does it matter to you anyways?"

"Because Lucy is my friend and you two are a part of the team. Just hurry up and tell her."

The pink-haired boy sighed and began to pick grass by the blade. "It's not that simple, idiot. We're best friends and partners. Telling her could ruin everything. Besides, I already know who she loves anyways."

Gray's eyes widened as he raised a brow. "You do? Doesn't that just make it easier then?"

Natsu looked at the ice mage with the same look of confusion and asked, "How does knowing Lucy loves Nab make it easier telling her that _I_ love her?"

A second of silence passed by, quickly followed by another. Gray's face of confusion instantly contorted to one of cackling, his laughter echoing throughout the night. Tears even managed to escape his dark eyes just thinking about Lucy and Nab being in a relationship. Once his laughter _finally_ died down, Gray sighed and stood up, brushing his jeans as he did so.

"You two dense idiots are hopeless," he finally said as he walked back towards Erza and the others.

Natsu watched Gray's retreating figure vanish as he thought about their conversation. What did he mean by that? Everything seemed to be confusing him these days. Love truly was a complicated subject.

" _I hate when Gray tells me what to do,"_ the dragon slayer thought as he began to pick at more grass. " _I hate admitting that he's right even more. Maybe I should tell her when we get her back. Then I could threaten Nab! Yeah, that would work!"_

Natsu laughed to himself as he started to feel a bit better. Even though he would never admit it to himself or say the words aloud, that talk with Gray truly did help cheer him up in the slightest. Now, he was determined. Not only was he going to get the love of his life back, but he was also going to tell her just how he felt. He could only hope she would feel the same.

 **AN:** I promise no more fillers after this one haha! :D In case anyone is wondering when this job arc is going to end, the last chapter for this arc is chapter 16 (which is my favorite so far). So just bear with me until then! After that will be less drama and more nalu :D Anyways, please leave a wonderful review as always! :D

 **FireShifter:** Yes he is a creep! Thank you for the review! :D

 **MirrorFlame:** Hmm... I wouldn't consider them uncle and niece considering they aren't blood related and Gray and Lyon were never actually legally adopted were they? :O I actually never thought of those two together tbh! I guess I focus on nalu so much I never really notice the smaller ships! D: But they would be cute together! I also think Lyon and Kagura would be cute haha! :D

 **Alexa:** Thank you so much! Part of my next couple of chapters are inspired by you, so stick around! :D I'm excited for your reaction!

 **12Rayne:** Omg you're right I can't believe I forgot all about that line when it was my favorite part of the whole chapter haha! Thank you for the review :D

 **J.C:** Chapter 12: Hello again! :D And thank you, I thought it was pretty funny too making him believe she loved Nab haha! Chapter 13: Thank you so much haha! I was worried it would be a little too dramatic but you all reassured me :) Thanks again for the continued support!


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:** Hello everyone! :D I am going to have to apologize for this chapter as it is mainly just fighting and I am terrible at writing battles hahaha! But important stuff nonetheless so bear with me! :D

Chapter 15

A couple of hours passed by quickly and finally it was five minutes until midnight. The group of mages stood in a makeshift square, discussing battle strategies while the concerned couple stood farther away so as to not get dragged into the soon to come fights.

Erza would be lying if she said she wasn't worried. After all, she was soon to be taking on two strong enemies at once. Being the kind of person that she is, the requip mage always blamed herself for things that went wrong on missions. And if she were to lose this battle, whatever happened next would be on her shoulders. The two boys and the exceed next to her noticed Erza's sudden change of confidence and nudged her lightly.

"Don't go worrying about this when you're the strongest one here," Gray said with a playful smirk.

"Yeah, leave the worrying for Lucy when we bring her back," Natsu added with a grin of his own.

"Aye!" Happy agreed.

Erza gave a small smile in return and nodded. " _They are right. I can't be worrying like this. I must have faith in myself and my teammates so that we can bring Lucy home."_

"Hello there, Fairy Tail meat," a feminine and familiar voice rang out from beyond the bushes.

Finally, the four mages appeared, just as menacing looking as they were the prior day. Natsu was quick to notice that Lucy was not among them, sending rage throughout him for the umpteenth time that day. Happy gave one last look at his best friend before he quickly flew back towards the older couple, as his job was to stand by and protect them at all times considering he couldn't actually fight.

"We're here for a rematch," Natsu announced, flames immediately engulfing his hands. "And we aren't going to lose."

"Is that so?" Takeshi questioned intriguingly. "We'll see about-"

Takeshi was shocked to find Natsu lunging towards him at an incredible speed. His reflexes were not fast enough and he was unable to create a portal in time. Natsu's flaming fist made contact with his cheek, burning his mask away in the process.

"We're taking Lucy back," the dragon slayer said furiously in a low tone.

Takeshi lifted himself off of the ground, his red eyes boring into Natsu's. "Prepare to die, boy."

"Now!" Erza shouted as she lunged towards the fast mage she had fought the day before. She swung her sword with all of her might, just to feel it being slowed down once again. Turning her head to the left, she found the other mage she battled before slowing down her movements. That is, until Gray used his Ice Make: Hammer on him, giving Erza her speed once again. Finally, she was able to land a shallow hit on the speedy mage, restoring all confidence that was previously lost.

"Go, Erza! I'm taking this guy!" Gray announced as he lunged towards the man once again.

Erza watched Gray's movements become slowed while the enemy delivered an attack, but she focused her attention back onto her own enemies.

" _Gray will be fine. He is a strong Fairy Tail mage. I must focus on my own battle for now,"_ she thought, requipping into her Flight Armor. While the leopard print top was most definitely uncomfortable it was no doubt her best armor for battles of speed.

Then, the girl lunged towards the fast mage, her speed increased ten times as much. Her sword collided with her enemy's own sword, as he had no choice but to block seeing as how she was too fast he couldn't dodge.

"I am Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail. What is your name?" she asked as the two were still clashing swords.

"Elijah," the mage answered in a plain matter. "This should be fun. I've never had to block someone else's attack before."

"That is because you had your comrade slow down your enemies' movements. You aren't actually that fast without his help."

Elijah's eyebrows furrowed as the corners of his lips were tugged downwards. He then increased his speed and delivered harsh kicks all around Erza, who was unable to do anything about it. Kicking the red-head towards Michiko, Elijah laughed seeing his teammate deliver a painful gash to Erza's side.

Erza stood up, panting and trying her best to regain her composure. She had forgotten all about Michiko and cursed under her breath for her rookie mistake.

" _Who should I go for first? It is clear that Michiko is the weakest of them all. I shall go for Elijah."_

Erza requipped two more swords and skillfully grabbed one with her free hand and the other with her foot. Elijah stared at her in wonder. How was she supposed to attack like that? He then lunged towards her but Erza stayed calm and waited him out. When he was right in front of her, the red-head jumped in the air and spun around, the blades dancing along his body.

Elijah's clothing was all tattered up and ripped as blood seeped through and even dropped to the ground. His breathing was uneven and he was in a much worse state than Erza. The red-head then took this chance to surprise attack Michiko, who was standing still, stunned at the sight of her fastest comrade being defeated with ease.

The orange-haired woman tried to extend her nails towards Erza to stop the incoming attack but it was to no avail. Erza slashed the nails away no matter how fast they were regenerating. Bringing her sword down with all of her strength, the requip mage left a huge gash through Michiko's abdomen. There was no way she was going to be standing back up any time soon. She then turned back towards Elijah, who looked back at her with undeniable rage.

Removing his hand from his deepest wound, the blonde increased his speed once again and delivered a low kick, causing Erza to hit the floor. He grabbed his sword and thrust it towards her face while she was down, but luckily she rolled away in time. The two clashed swords once again, continuously increasing their speed. Elijah actually managed to get in some good cuts on Erza. Blood was dripping down her forearm and her leg, along with the wound she received from Michiko. But nothing seemed to stop her.

" _Why can't I cut her down!?"_ Elijah wondered as he felt another deep gash on his thigh. " _I can't beat her!"_

Elijah's eyes widened as he felt his sword knocked out of his hand. He met Erza's eyes and felt his body go limp. He couldn't beat the red-headed demon. Erza quickly brought the hilt of her sword towards her face and swung it at Elijah, hitting him square in the jaw and knocking him out in the process. She never was one for killing her enemies unless absolutely necessary, thus she took some rope that she always carried with her and tied her two knocked out opponents up.

Erza let out many pants as she felt her body going numb. While the two weren't as strong as some past enemies, the two of them together were enough to require the mage to take a break. She looked at Natsu first as he fought their leader. None of his attacks were hitting, but it appeared Takeshi hadn't attacked yet. Therefore, he was fine at the moment. Then she looked at Gray and her eyes widened. Gray was bloodied and bruised and was unable to land an attack on his own enemy. Erza willed her body to get up but it was futile. She needed to rest.

" _Please be okay, Gray."_

* * *

Gray panted as his attacker took a break to look at his fallen comrades. There was no sadness in his eyes. Instead, his black orbs were emotionless as if he didn't care what happened to the two. Turning his attention back towards Gray, the man spoke.

"Why don't we exchange names as well?" he said in a deep voice.

"I don't care what your name is!" Gray retorted, struggling to hold himself up.

The man shrugged and replied, "Either way, my name is Elliot. That unconscious man over there is my younger brother. It appears your friend defeated him."

"Yeah, your brother went up against one of the strongest mages in all of Fiore. Of course he was beaten."

"I suppose that is true." Elliot then looked at Erza, who was laying on the grass, restoring her magical energy. He then dismissed Gray and walked towards her. "I must kill her for beating my brother."

Gray then jumped in between the two, still struggling for air. "Touch her and I'll kill you."

Elliot smirked and quickly ran past the ice mage. He brought his foot up high in the air above Erza's face, relishing in the fear in her eyes. Bringing it down as fast as he could, he was surprised to find his leg frozen just inches above her forehead.

"Ice Make: Cannon!" Gray shouted as he shot ice towards his enemy. Luckily, it hit him right in his gut and sent him flying through trees. Now Elliot was bleeding and panting as well, putting them on even ground. "My name is Gray Fullbuster. Remember it, because I'm going to be the man to kill you for trying to hurt my friend."

Elliot lunged towards the dark-haired boy with a sadistic smile on his face. The two boys fought hand-to-hand for what seemed like forever, both of them delivering nasty blows. Both were bruised and it seemed like they were going to have a stalemate until Gray grabbed Elliot's wrist and grinned at him.

"Gotcha," he said as he enveloped himself in spikey ice and trapped Elliot's hand in the ice so he couldn't escape.

Elliot tried to jump away but it was futile. His hand was stuck in the ice. After using his magic to slow down the ice, the blonde screamed in fear of the pointy shards slowly making their way towards his body. Each spike pierced his body in different locations, causing him to screech in pain. Gray finally stopped the attack and destroyed the ice, delivering one last punch straight into Elliot's nose, effectively knocking him out. The ice mage laughed heartily as he had just won, though he winced in pain shortly after and collapse to the ground. Bruises upon bruises were covering his body and blood dripped from his mouth.

Just then, a nasty yelp of pain was heard, causing both Gray and Erza to look towards Natsu. The dragon slayer was on the ground, shouting from the pain he was going through. He then sat back up, and that was when Gray noticed his injury. He had almost puked at the sight. The skin on Natsu's right hand was practically gone, showing raw, meaty flesh underneath.

"Natsu!" Gray shouted, crawling towards him and trying to get back to his feet. "What the hell happened!?"

Natsu was no doubt in worse shape than the other two. His panting was far worse and the amount of blood he was losing made Gray wonder if he should send Happy to go find Wendy.

"Looks like my hand got a little too close to that portal and this is the consequence," Natsu answered between breaths.

"Natsu, I'm coming to help!" Happy cried out, tears soaring down his cheeks. He was about to fly towards his partner when he was stopped by Natsu.

"Stay there, buddy. I'll beat this guy, don't worry. You just gotta take care of the clients."

"A-Aye…"

Natsu then lunged towards the enemy once again, trying to hit him with his fire. It was no use. Takeshi just continued to surround himself with portals, sending the fire away.

"Stop being a coward and just fight me!" the pink-haired boy shouted.

"I wonder how many people you have killed so far," Takeshi said, putting a finger to his chin and ignoring Natsu's shouts.

"I haven't killed anyone, unlike you!"

"Are you sure about that? You see, I don't control where the things that enter my portals go to. For all we know, you could've sent innocent people on fire and killed them."

Natsu's eyes shot open as he stopped all of his attacks. He knew that he had to get Lucy back, but there was no way he was going to kill innocent people to do so. But what was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to beat this guy when none of his attacks were hitting him and instead going in these portals? Hell, even if he disregarded the lives of the innocent people, his dominant hand was now rendered useless anyways. All hope was quickly being drained out of the dragon slayer until he heard Erza's yelling.

"Natsu!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Do not listen to him! I am unable to help you in my condition, so is Gray. But I figured it out watching you two fight. I figured out his weakness! He is lying!"

"What do you mean?"

"Those aren't portals, they're black holes! If it was a portal, your skin would not have dissolved off of you, you yourself would have been teleported as a whole somewhere else!"

"Then how did he take Lucy into them?"

"I am not sure, but I think that was just a distraction. I am sure Elijah transported them all with his speed. After all, we were on the brink of consciousness then. Anyways, I am familiar with the weakness of black hole magic. Luckily, you are the best person for the job. Black holes can only handle so much mass. Fill it with your fire and it will disappear as it will become full!"

Natsu grinned and delivered a word of thanks and continued to attack with all of his might. His hand hurt to no end, but his mind was wrapped around Lucy's safety. His injuries were irrelevant as long as she was safe. Thus, he breathed loads of fire into the hole. Some went past and melted the trees like lava. Just as Erza said, the hole continued to shrink until it disappeared. Natsu then lunged towards Takeshi, who was now unable to defend himself.

"Fire Dragon Wing Attack!" the dragon slayer roared. The attack was delivered, though not the extent that they had expected.

Takeshi was still standing and though he was injured, he could still fight back.

"I wasn't expecting your friend to figure out my secret," he said, masking his anger with a smile. "But it doesn't matter. While it is true that my black holes disappear with a certain amount of mass, there is only a three second wait until I can make another."

"Then I guess I'm going to have to keep attacking for those three seconds."

"Are you sure you have enough magical power for that?"

"I guess we'll just have to find out!"

Natsu roared a breath of fire towards Takeshi, who had no choice but to create a black hole. Once again, the hole eventually disappeared and the pink-haired boy delivered another fatal blow. This process repeated for a while, making Natsu too familiar with the pattern to realize that Takeshi had sent his own attack.

Natsu fell to the ground in the most pain he had ever been in. No previous battles had hurt him this badly. Takeshi's "portal" had hit him on his entire right leg. There was no more skin on it and only flesh. He couldn't stop the tears from flowing out of his eyes. The pain was just too unbearable. Natsu's onyx eyes began to close as he heard his friends shouting at him to get up and to stay awake. As his eyes drooped closed, pictures of Lucy ran through his mind.

"I'm sorry, Lucy…"

* * *

"Loke, come here now!" Lucy shouted in her cell.

In the blink of an eye, her strongest spirit appeared, looking refreshed. "Is it time?"

"Yes! Please, destroy the bars and take me to my friends!"

Loke hesitantly did so and followed the blonde as she ran out, tugging Lucas along with her. They quickly made it out of the cave that they were being held captive in and found themselves deep in the woods. The lion spirit pointed in the direction of her friends before firmly grasping his master's wrist. He stopped her and spun her around so that he could deliver the cold truth.

"Loke, what are you doing we have to go-"

"Lucy!" the lion spirit shouted, effectively getting her to be quiet. "Listen to me real quick. I materialized near the others to see how they were holding up before I came here."

Lucy's eyes widened and her jaw hung open as she suspected the worse. "A-Are they okay?"

Loke shook his head and answered, "They are all alive, but they are unconscious. Including Happy and the boy's parents. It seems they were able to defeat everyone but Takeshi... Natsu is terribly injured and is close to bleeding to death."

Tears pooled in Lucy's chocolate brown eyes as her legs trembled. She collapsed to the ground and began to silently sob.

" _I can't lose anyone else, especially not Natsu!"_ she thought, bringing her hands to her hair and pulling at her blonde locks. " _I have to use it."_

"I know what you're thinking, Lucy," Loke announced as he helped his master back up. "But you can't use that spell! It's too dangerous! You don't have it completely controlled yet and more importantly-"

"I don't care! I am going to save my friends!"

With that, Lucy carried Lucas on her back, pushed past Loke, and ran with all of her might in the right direction towards her friends, not seeing Loke go back through his gate. She didn't know how far they were and she didn't know how long Natsu had left, but she was determined to save them. And once she did, she was going to tell Natsu the truth. She was going to confess her feelings.

* * *

Mira hummed to herself as she strode through the guild hall, skillfully balancing plates of food on a tray and delivering them to her guild mates. It was then that the door burst open, bringing the attention of everyone else. Her blue eyes widened as she saw Loke standing with a grim look on his face.

"Loke? What's the matter? Is Lucy alright?" she asked, running up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

The orange-haired spirit broke down in a fit of tears as he managed to breathe out, "Take me to the master now."

Mira grabbed his wrist and ran through the guild hall and up the steps, ignoring the questions from her other guild mates. Barging into Makarov's office, she settled Loke gently into one of the seats and brought their short master to him.

"Loke, what is it?" Makarov asked in a quieter tone than usual. He had never seen the spirit so distraught.

"It's Lucy," Loke replied, wiping away his tears.

"Oh my god is she dead?" Mira asked in a terrified, worried whisper, tears forming in her eyes.

"No," the orange-haired boy answered, relieving the take-over mage. That is, until he continued, "Not yet."

"What do you mean, boy?" Makarov asked, worried features spread across his face.

"She is going to use the spell."

Shock flashed upon the master's face as he questioned, "Why on Earthland would she use that spell!?"

Mira wanted to ask what spell they were talking about but decided it would be best to just listen.

Loke grimly answered, "Natsu and the others are hurt. Natsu is bleeding out actually, close to death. I would tell you to bring Wendy but it wouldn't matter in the end if Lucy was to use that spell. I shouldn't have taught it to her!"

"Do not blame yourself, child. Just take me there. We have to save all of them and stop Lucy. Mira! Call for Wendy! She must come and heal Natsu and the others!"

"Master, what is going on?" the silver-haired mage asked in utter confusion.

"Lucy is going to use the ultimate celestial spell. This will not only kill her, but also everyone around."

 **AN:** Oooh good stuff? Yes? No? :D Next chapter is my personal fav so far so stick around :)

 **Alexa:** Thank you so much not only for the review but for some of the ideas in the next chapter! I think it added a really great amount of suspense to my story! So THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 **MirrorFlame:** Yeah, I don't know why but if I had to ship someone with Lyon (I don't typically think about his character haha) it would be Kagura! I thought they meshed well during their fight together and I think their icy personalities would be entertaining haha! And good guess! You'll have to find out next chapter! ;)

 **12Rayne:** As you now see from this chapter, yes I am putting this spell into the story! :D Though, not as you may think! ;)


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:** I love this chapter and I am very proud of it so I hope you guys like it just as much as I do! This chapter was inspired by my regular guest reviewer Alexa! Thank you so much for some of the ideas you've given me and I hope I did them justice and I hope you enjoy the most! :D

Chapter 16

Mira, Makarov, Loke, Wendy, and Carla were running somewhere deep in the woods, searching for their companions, most importantly Lucy. The females in the group had no idea what kind of spell Lucy had learned, but knew it was a matter of grave importance if their master was so serious about it. They had been running for miles; Wendy was surprised her legs hadn't given out on her. Worry filled each of them to the bone, hoping that they would make it in time.

"Master," Mira began, "what spell are you two talking about? How is Lucy going to kill herself and everyone else?"

Makarov opened his mouth only to close it once again. He shook his head and replied, "There is no time for that. For now, we must run and pray we make it in time."

Loke knew that they were still at least a half hour away. Judging by the time Lucy had left him, she wasn't much farther away from Natsu and the others. Despair engulfed the boy. He was about to lose another master whom he had loved so much. Nobody had ever treated him and the other spirits with such respect and kindness that the bubbly blonde had, and it was killing him that she may die because of a spell _he_ had taught her.

" _Please Lucy,"_ he thought, rubbing away the tears that were escaping his eyes, " _just wait for us."_

* * *

Lucy ran through the woods, leaves and branches hitting her body. She shielded Lucas from these obstacles, but never slowed down despite his begs. There was no time to slow down. Natsu was losing too much blood. She needed to get there to save Natsu and the others. Crystalline tears hadn't stopped streaming from her chocolate brown eyes, blurring her vision. But that didn't stop her. At this point, nothing would.

Just a few yards ahead of her, Lucy noticed trees that were melting from what looked like lava. The blonde felt an intense heat from up above and she knew that it had to be the remnants of Natsu's magic from his battle. Forcing her legs to go faster, the girl ran with all of her might and felt her heart stop beating when she finally approached the group.

Amber and Johnathon were lying unconscious, hand in hand. Happy was nearby, his fur matted in blood. Erza had severe gashes over her body while Gray's usually pale skin had turned into a nasty purple as most of his body was covered in painful bruises. Three of the enemies were knocked out, two of them tied together with rope. Last but not least, her gaze landed on Natsu.

If Lucy felt her heart stop before, then this time it had stopped completely and surely she was dead. His skin was missing over his right hand and his entire right leg. The ends of his hair were no longer pink, but were instead a deep shade of red as they had been soaking in his own blood. In fact, Natsu himself laid in a huge pool of his own crimson blood. Loke wasn't kidding, he really was bleeding out.

"So you escaped, Miss Lucy Heartfilia," a grim voice sounded to the left of her. As she expected, it was Takeshi, his thin lips brought into a wicked smile. "That is of no matter. I suppose I can kill you as well. But first, let me finish off this boy. I can't let him get away with injuring me, after all."

A smaller black hole was brought just in front of his hand and he slowly inched it towards Natsu's face, his smile growing more unpleasant by the second. Just as he was inches apart from colliding his black hole with Natsu's sleeping face, Lucy was finally brought out of her trance. Pulling out her whip, the blonde thrust it at him and latched it onto his wrist, stopping his movements.

"Lucas," she shakily managed to let out, "go to your parents and stay by them. Do not move." The little boy did as he was told and scurried away from the angry blonde. For once, Lucas actually feared his savior more than his captor.

"Oh, Miss Lucy. When will you ever stop playing these games?" Takeshi asked, turning his attention back towards the celestial mage. "Oh well, I suppose I could start with you."

Creating another black hole with his left hand, the evil mage brought it towards the whip that was encircling his dominant wrist. It was torn to shreds immediately, just as Natsu's skin was. Lucy stared at her weapon and tossed it aside. Closing her eyes, the blonde clasped her hands together and began to mumble.

"This spell again, Lucy?" Takeshi asked, followed by ugly cackles. "When will you ever learn? Oh well, go ahead! Use your spell! It's the last thing you'll be able to do anyways!"

As Lucy continued mumbling the necessary chants, her whole body became enveloped in the brightest magical circle Takeshi had ever seen. Sure, celestial spirit magic was always bright as it relied on the power of the stars, but this was just ridiculous. The light was blinding, and the spell hadn't even begun. That's when it struck him: this wasn't the same spell. No, this one was much stronger.

For once, Takeshi had felt fear course through his veins. Deciding not to let her finish her spell, the man threw a large black hole towards the blonde. However, it was stopped and evaporated by an invisible force field that surrounded Lucy.

Lucy finally opened her eyes. She had stopped mumbling and instead was staring with an emotionless look at Takeshi. Her enemy. The one that had severely hurt Natsu. _Natsu._ That five letter name continued to replay in her mind, reminding her of the hatred she felt for the man that stood in front of her. Slowly raising her arms up, the blonde relished in the look of fear that was featured upon his face. When her slender arms were completely raised above her head, twelve bright lights encircled the group of people. She was starting the spell.

* * *

As Loke led the way throughout the deep forest, he felt his whole body being drained of magical power. He had used so much materializing in front of Natsu and the others, followed by Lucy, and now the guild. Not only that, but he had stayed to show them the way towards his master. He could see the melted trees, they were just ahead, only ten more minutes away! His determination to save Lucy kept him going. That is, until a blinding light surrounded him.

"Shit!" the lion spirit cursed.

"Loke!" Mira shouted in worry. "What is that light!?"

"She's starting the spell!" Makarov shouted.

"Hurry!" Loke yelled. "Since I am being brought to her, she has only finished the first set of chants needed! I can't stop her! Go towards the melted trees and you'll find them! Go now and save Lucy, plea-"

With that, the orange-haired spirit was gone, along with the flash of light that enveloped him. The group turned their attention back towards the melted trees and lava, and sure enough, they could sense Lucy's magical power.

"We must hurry!" Makarov stated, dashing towards the right direction.

* * *

Lucy was stunned as she watched spirits being summoned into the bright lights. First was Aries, followed by Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer. With another push of energy, the blonde summoned Leo. He was clearly distraught, but it seemed that all of the magical energy he had lost before was now being filled as Lucy continued her chants. Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius were next. The next bright light that was supposed to showcase a zodiac spirit remained empty. Lucy knew that was were Aquarius would be if she were still alive and shed even more tears for her fallen friend. This only pushed Lucy to try more as she summoned the last zodiac spirit, Pisces.

By now, Erza's eyes were slowly fluttering open due to the bright light that surrounded her. Gray's eyes followed in pursuit as he had woken up seconds later. The two looked around and gasped at the sight surrounding them. Lucy was enveloped by bright light, all eleven of the supreme celestial spirits circling them. Erza looked to see Natsu, still unconscious.

"Gray," the red-head let out, choking on her own blood immediately after. "Go to Natsu. Wake him."

"I don't think that I can," the ice mage replied. He willed for his legs to move, but it was futile.

"Yes you can. You are in a far better condition than I. Please, find a way."

Gray cursed under his breath but complied. The mage flipped himself over onto his stomach and winced at the pain. He could tell that his legs were broken, along with a couple of his ribs, but he pushed himself to continue. Using his arms, which were the least injured surprisingly, the boy army crawled slowly towards the unconscious dragon slayer. When he finally approached Natsu, Gray used the rest of his energy to shake the pinkette awake.

Natsu's onyx eyes slowly fluttered open and he was immediately reminded of the pain. However, he quickly forgot about that as he found Lucy standing just a few feet in front of him in the brightest light he had ever seen before in his life. Slowly turning his head, he found all of the zodiac spirits- even the ones that weren't contracted to Lucy- surrounding them.

"Lu… Cy…" was all that escaped his mouth in a barely audible tone. He couldn't speak. Instead, he could only will himself to stay awake and watch.

All eleven of the remaining zodiac were in a circle around them. Lucy remembered how she and Yukino were ecstatic that Loke and Libra were going to teach them both a new spell. The blonde also remembered being told that it would summon all of the zodiac, even if they didn't have a contract with them, making it the ultimate celestial spell. She then remembered the look of urgency as Loke told her to never use it unless absolutely necessary. Seeing Natsu lying in a pool of his own blood made the blonde deem it as necessary.

The first set of chants were to get the twelve gates of the zodiacs. By unclasping her hands and raising her arms above her head, Lucy was able to begin the second set of chants. This allowed her to summon the spirits and to fill them with any lost magical power. Finally, Lucy's mumbling stopped. Bringing her arms back down to her side, the blonde felt a wave of dizziness throughout her body. Ignoring it, she set her gaze onto Takeshi, who was standing still, frozen in fear. It was time.

"Celeste Spirit Mode: Activa-"

"LUCY!" a sudden voice rang from behind the girl. Lucy looked over her shoulder to see Makarov, Mira, Wendy, and Carla running towards her. The worried expressions on their faces didn't go unnoticed.

"M-Master?" Lucy questioned, surprised to see them there. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to stop you," the short, old man said with a grave tone.

"W-What do you mean?"

"You can't use that spell, Lucy."

The blonde's eyes widened and a pang of betrayal ran through her. Can't use the spell? What the hell was he talking about? Did he not see Natsu and the others?

"What are you talking about!?" she screamed. "Natsu is in danger! He was going to kill him!"

"I understand that, but you must not use the spell."

At this point, Lucy had become utterly irrational. Shaking her head furiously, she turned her attention back towards Takeshi, reminded once again of the pain he had caused the man she loved. She refused to let him get away.

"I need to kill him," she finally said. "He hurt Natsu. I _will_ kill him. Celeste Spirit Mode-"

"LUCY LISTEN TO ME!" Makarov shouted, once again gaining her attention. "Please just listen to me!"

"No, he could get away if you distract me!"

"No he can't! I know more about this spell than you do! There is a force field not only around you, but also around the circle of the spirits! None can leave!"

"That's good, so let me just finish this-"

"Lucy! Listen to me, child! Indeed, that spell will kill him. But it will also kill you!"

Natsu's body flinched as he listened to his master's words.

" _Kill Lucy?"_ he wondered. " _Lucy is going to die?"_ Tears cascaded through his eyes once again at the thought of losing his best friend and the love of his life. " _No. Lucy can't die. I won't let that happen."_

Following in Gray's example, Natsu brought his arms ahead of him and slowly tried to army crawl towards Lucy. The feeling of his right hand touching the dirt sent waves of cruel pain throughout his body. It was even worse feeling his right leg, which was devoid of any skin, being dragged across the ground. He knew it was going to get infected. It didn't matter though. He had to stop Lucy. Since he couldn't speak, this was his only option. He would rather feel like death than let Lucy die.

"I don't care if I die!" Lucy spat out, not noticing the pink-haired below that was very slowly approaching her. Her judgement was completely clouded at the moment. "I need to do this!"

"Are you prepared to see Natsu die as well then!?" Makarov shouted back, losing his patience with the blonde. "Allow me to educate you since Loke did not. The first person to use this spell and the creator was none other than your own mother, Layla Heartfilia."

"M-Mama?"

"Yes, and that is why she had died."

Lucy blinked once, then twice as tears quickly flooded her eyes, blurring her vision entirely. She then blinked them away, shaking her head slowly in denial. "T-There's no way… I was there when she died… She died of illness…"

"She died of magical deficiency. Celeste Spirit Mode is indeed one of the strongest spells known to man. Your mother was the strongest celestial spirit mage that had ever lived, and it is clear that you are following in her footsteps. However, while her sacrifice was respectable, your actions are ill-thought and foolish, Lucy."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Celeste Spirit Mode drains the magical power of the user, making them unable to use magic. As you know, magic is our life force. However, it only leaves the tiniest speck, allowing the user to live for a short period of time, though they are unable to use their magic. That is how she went back to see you before she had passed."

"B-But what did she fight?"

Makarov sighed and continued, "One of the strongest demons Zeref had ever created. It was rampaging throughout an entire city, killing most of the citizens. When your mother arrived, set on using the spell that she had created, she was aware that she was going to die. However, she didn't know that the survivors that were encompassed in the spell would die as well as the demon. Thus, after she killed the demon and found that she had also killed the innocent citizens, she had returned home to you, not only with a frail and dying body, but also with a serious depression."

Lucy brought her hands to her face and sobbed into them. "T-That's not possible… She was always so happy…"

"That is because you were her greatest joy, Lucy. But at the moment, your grief of seeing Natsu in pain has blinded you and caused you to think irrationally. If you were to use that spell, you would have no choice but to watch as you kill Natsu and the others."

Lucy continued to sob uncontrollably, but didn't call off the spell. She was too distracted by the new information about her mother to remember what she was doing. That is, until she felt something grasp onto her ankle. Gasping, the blonde looked down and saw Natsu holding onto her.

"Don't… die…" he said, his voice barely audible.

With that, Lucy fell to her knees and held onto the pink-haired boy for dear life. She cried and cried into his torn vest, feeling a minor sense of comfort. Finally, the light around her and the spirits dimmed until it eventually disappeared completely.

"I'm so sorry, Natsu!" she cried out, clutching onto him even tighter. "I almost-"

"It doesn't matter… Just stop crying already, sheesh. Y-You're getting snot all over me."

Lucy giggled and then hiccupped due to her incessant crying. Erza and Gray smiled and let their heads lay back on the ground, their bodies relaxing once more. Mira and Wendy wiped tears out of their eyes, glad that Lucy was finally in her right mind again. Then the petite dragon slayer scurried towards the two and began to heal Natsu.

"No you don't!" a sudden voice boomed.

Lucy and Wendy looked to see Takeshi quickly sending a huge, ominous black hole towards them. The blonde positioned herself above both Natsu and Wendy so that she would take most if not all of the damage. She had no more magical power, not to mention the fact that she didn't have her keys. This was it.

"FAIRY LAW!" Makarov shouted as he cast one of Fairy Tail's most powerful spells just in time. It quickly filled the black hole as it came just inches away from Lucy. The light also began to heal wounds and refill lost magical power. Takeshi was left unconscious on the floor, his clothes tattered and his hair disintegrated. It was finally over.

Wendy quickly went to work to finish healing Natsu. She had definitely gotten stronger over the year since the guild disbanded. Lucy could literally see skin being regenerated over Natsu's leg and hand. Knowing that her friends were alright, the blonde's eyes slowly began to droop closed. And she let them.

 **AN:** I hope you guys loved it as much as I did :') Please leave reviews! :D

 **FireShifter:** Yay she didn't do the spell! :D Thanks to Makarov haha! Thanks for the review :)

 **Beginswithkay:** Haha I love cliffhangers! :D Hopefully this chapter made up for it! Thank you!

 **Alexa:** THANK YOU FOR THE INSPIRATION OF MY FAVORITE CHAPTER SO FAR. Seriously, this chapter was all thanks to you and I love it! :D I am glad you gave me so many ideas and I sincerely hope that you liked this chapter! :') And thank you about my writing! I have another nalu story up if you're interested and there will be plenty more to come! :D

 **MirorFlame:** HAHA SORRY BUT THE KILLING WITH SUSPENSE MUST BE DONE! At least this chapter cleared everything up :D Btw, who is your least favorite Fairy Tail ship? :)

 **12Rayne:** Which is just the reaction I was looking for! :D Haha thanks for the review again :D


	17. Chapter 17

**AN:** Hello everyone! I am sad to say that this story will very soon be coming to an end! D: I love this story very much as it is my first nalu story and I am very proud of it, but I didn't want to drag it out and get bored of it just like some of my other stories. So, I ended it on chapter 19 which will be followed by a quick little epilogue! Thank you to everyone that reviewed this story, I'm glad you all stuck with it so far! I hope you enjoy and please continue to keep reviewing! :D

Chapter 17

A week had passed since Natsu and the others had returned from their mission. Lucas was returned safely- thanks to Makarov stopping Lucy- and the clients had paid the group a hefty reward. Takeshi and the others were taken by the council and imprisoned for life, which Lucy was satisfied with. Since then, none of Team Natsu had seen each other and were instead resting and healing from the stressful mission. Gray had healed first, followed by Erza. The two went back to the guild as soon as they were better, only to find that Lucy was not there.

This was peculiar, seeing as how Lucy was the least injured of the group. The worst of her injuries was the wound left by Michiko's nails during their first encounter. Besides that, her only injuries were bruises from being kicked by Elijah and a nasty, purple bruise that was on her forehead from having her head slammed into a bar by Takeshi. However, for the most part the girl was fine. In the end, the two shrugged it off, giving the blonde time to deal with the new information she had received about her mother. After all, Natsu would be worried enough about their friend.

Speaking of whom, Natsu's eyes had just fluttered open that morning. He lifted his bandaged hand immediately and was relieved that the pain had died down considerably thanks to Wendy. He still needed to use crutches for his leg, however. Undoing the bandages, the boy got up and was about to go about his day until…

"Where do you think you're going?" Happy questioned, his brows raised in suspicion.

"To the guild," Natsu answered, limping towards his crutches, however Happy flew by and took them away just in time.

"No you aren't! You still need to heal! You heard what Wendy said! No leaving your bed!"

"I don't care."

Happy let out an annoyed sound as he flew in front of his partner, stopping him in his tracks. "Lucy is fine. Now go back to bed!"

"You don't understand, Happy-"

"Yes I do! You think nobody notices the way that you look at her!? We all do Natsu! We aren't blind, you love her!"

"S-Shut up!"

"Make me!"

Natsu tried his best to lunge towards the exceed, though his bandaged leg wouldn't allow it. Instead, he landed on the floor with a heavy plop, pain surging through his leg once again. Happy flew over him and laughed.

"Stupid Natsu!" the cat said with laughter. "I don't see why you are rushing to see her anyways, you're too scared to tell her the truth anyways!"

"Oi, I'm not scared!" the dragon slayer shot back, still laying on the floor.

"Oh yeah? Then why haven't you told her?"

"Because I didn't want to ruin anything between us! Look, I know who I am. I know that I'm messy and I eat a lot and I'm loud and a whole bunch of other stuff. I also know what kind of guy Lucy likes. She likes the pretty boys that are smart and read books and stuff. That's not me. I thought that if I told her everything would be ruined and I would lose my best friend."

Happy sighed. His two best friends truly were the dumbest people in the world. "Listen, Natsu. You have to just tell her! Igneel, the King of the Dragons, didn't raise a wimp!"

Natsu perked his head up at Happy's words. He and Gray were right. All he was doing was running from his feelings and being a coward. However…

"I know, but I have a plan. I'm not going to tell her."

Happy fell to the floor, exhausted with dealing with his friends' density. Love couldn't be that hard, could it? After all, he had made his feelings toward a certain exceed clear countless of times and they were just fine.

"I know, I know," Natsu began, ruffling Happy's fur, "I just want to take my time with this. I decided I would tell her my feelings when I got back, but I don't want to rush into this. I don't even know what I would want from her."

"What are you going to do then?" the cat questioned, now helping his friend stand back up.

"Remember those pretty boys that would talk to Lucy all weird? Well, she seemed to like that, so I'm going to give that a shot."

"So you are going to _flirt_ with her?"

"I guess so."

Happy sighed as he gave Natsu his crutches. "Well then, let Operation: Steal Lucy's Heart commence! Go talk to her now!"

Natsu gave his partner a fanged grin as he rushed- well _limped-_ out the door as fast as he could and out onto the streets of Mongolia.

* * *

Lucy slumped in her chair as she wrote to her mother. The girl had been nagging herself the past week to do it, but couldn't bring herself to write. Normally, it was an easy process of just spilling the day's events and her feelings onto paper, but with new revelations, nothing seemed simple anymore. Forcing herself to pick up the nearest pen, the blonde went to work, voicing what she was writing onto paper.

"Hello, Mama," she wrote with a sad smile gracing her lips as always, "it's been a long time since I last wrote to you. Since you are watching me from above, I'm sure you know why." Lucy let out a soft sigh and continued, unaware of the new presence in the room that was sitting patiently on her bed while also listening. "I definitely did not expect you to be the one that created Celeste Spirit Mode. I always knew you were a strong celestial mage, I should've known."

Tears pricked her eyes as she continued, "But then again, I don't really know much about you, do I? I'm such a terrible daughter. I mean, what child doesn't know that their own mother was suffering from depression? I keep thinking back, and even now I don't remember any signs of you being sad. I heard from Master that you felt guilty over the loss of the people that were there when you cast the spell. I would tell you it's not your fault, but I feel the same way."

Lucy's hand began to shake as teared flowed gently from her eyes. "I really don't know you at all, yet I've been writing to you for years. I never knew you went on such a terrible mission. You told me you were visiting your friend, but I should've known. Especially when you came back suddenly ill. I really am a horrible daughter."

"No you aren't," a sudden voice rang from behind the girl.

Whipping her head around, she found Natsu sitting upright on her bed with a serious expression on his face. "N-Natsu? What are you doing here-"

"You aren't a terrible daughter," the boy interrupted, pushing on with upmost seriousness. "It's like Gramps said, you were the best thing in your mom's life. Of course she would find happiness with you around. It's hard not to."

"But still! I should've noticed-"

"How could you notice if there were no signs? And don't blame yourself for not knowing that much about your mom's secrets. That's what makes 'em secrets."

"You don't understand," Lucy pouted.

Natsu gave a low chuckle and replied, "Need I remind you that I thought my dad disappeared for a decade, only to find out that he was freaking inside of me the whole time?"

Lucy lightly laughed along as she wiped away her tears. "I guess I'm not that dense then when it's compared to you."

Natsu gave a small smile and Lucy could see something burning brightly in his eyes. There was a new passion that she had rarely seen, usually when he was determined in battle. Her heart stopped as he slowly walked towards her. He then gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her to stand up. They were so close, they could feel each other's breaths on their skin.

"I am so tired of hearing that I'm dense," Natsu began in a low, almost whispering tone, "but I guess it's not entirely wrong."

"N-Natsu?" Lucy questioned, gazing deep into his onyx eyes. She was well aware that she was blushing, but she didn't mind. Not when she was so distracted by the deep voice he was using that ensnarled her attention.

"I have to say though, if I'm dense, then you are a straight up idiot."

Lucy was pulled out of her daze as she lightly punched the man in front of her. However, he quickly stopped the attacks by taking hold of both of her wrists and pinning them to her side. The girl's breath hitched in her throat.

Natsu then inquired with a sad look in his eyes, "Why were you going to use that spell, Lucy?"

Lucy's brown eyes darted away from his piercing gaze. That is until she felt his warm hand cupping her chin and making her maintain eye contact. "I-I needed to save you."

"There must've been another way," the boy replied in his low voice once again, making her knees shake.

"That was the only spell I could do that was strong enough to stop him!"

"No it wasn't. You are a strong mage, Lucy. You are capable of more. Even if there wasn't, what makes you think that I would be alright knowing that you were going to die for me? You don't die for your friends, Lucy. You live with them."

"I didn't want you to die-"

"And you think I want you to? You were being stupid, Lucy. Even when Gramps showed up you were still so bent on using that spell. You know that he could've beaten Takeshi easily. So why did you have to? You completely disregarded your own life for that spell and I wanna know why."

Lucy's lips quivered as she replied, "I wanted to kill him…"

Natsu's eyes widened. Killing wasn't something that Fairy Tail mages did. They simply rendered their opponents unconscious and continued about their days. They never killed unless absolutely necessary. "Why?"

"…Because of how badly he hurt you."

The boy sighed as he pulled the blonde in for a tight embrace. "Thank you, Lucy. But I don't need you losing your innocence like that for me. And most importantly your life." He then pulled away from the hug. "I was really worried about you…"

"I should be the one saying that," Lucy whispered. Their faces were even closer than before…

"You really are an idiot for thinking I would let you off yourself like that…"

"I guess I am…"

Their faces were a mere inch apart. Lucy felt as if her legs were going to give out on her, so she gripped Natsu's coat tightly. The boy moved his face even closer, receiving a shocked gasp from the girl in front of him. This inspired him to go even closer. Their lips were just millimeters apart and he wanted nothing more than to close the gap. Sighing heavily, he pulled back a bit, noticing the disappointed look on Lucy's face as he did. Then, he placed a chaste kiss on the girl's forehead, both of their bodies erupting with warmth at the simple contact.

"You are a weirdo," he finally said in a hushed tone. His breath gently fanned her face. "It's just my luck that my best friend would be a weirdo."

"S-Shut up," Lucy replied, lightly smacking his chest. "At least I don't go randomly kissing people's foreheads."

Natsu pulled back a bit more to study her face. He was serious, making Lucy wonder if she had said the wrong thing.

"Did it upset you?" he finally asked, still analyzing her features.

Quickly, she replied, "No, it didn't! It was just a little surprising!"

Finally, Natsu's signature grin appeared on his face as he said, "Good! Now let's go to the guild already! I got some stuff I wanna say to Nab!"

"Nab? What do you have to say to Nab?"

"It's a secret!"

Lucy gave a cute pout, though it quickly vanished as she felt Natsu's warm hand grabbing her own. He then tugged her out of the apartment and towards the guild. Memories flooded her mind as she recalled the day she had first met her best friend. The way he pulled her towards the guild made her feel so free in ways that she had never felt before. He had opened a door for her into the world of freedom and happiness and her world was quickly thrown into the fun charades of Fairy Tail.

" _And that is why I am in love with Natsu."_

 **AN:** Progress is quickly being made by the two! :D Please review! :)

 **MarSofTheGalaxies:** No confession yet, but soon! :D Thanks for another review :)

 **MirrorFlame:** I think my least favorite ship would have to be Wendy/Mest! Or really anyone paired with Wendy! I don't know why but I don't ship her with anyone, maybe I think she's too young lol.

 **Alexa:** Not so much of a fight but more of a civil conversation for these two! :D And I'm so glad you loved the chapter!

 **12Rayne:** Haha no bad side effects for our little Lucy because she didn't fully activate the spell! :D Thanks for the review! :D

 **LRCN:** Thank you for a sweet review!


	18. Chapter 18

**AN:** I'm sure you will all be happy with this chapter. You can thank me in the reviews. ;)

Chapter 18

"LUCY!"

Everyone at the guild erupted at the sight of the blonde, walking hand-in-hand with her partner. Usually they would tease them for their contact, but everyone had been so worried about the two they decided to shrug it off. After all, there was still a slight bruise on Lucy's forehead from being slammed against her cell. There was no time for teasing.

"Hello, everyone," the blonde greeted in return with a shy smile. She could feel all of their intense and curious gazes. She knew that word about her mother and their spell quickly spread throughout the guild.

"I'm here too, you know…" Natsu muttered as he released Lucy's hand and encouraged her to go talk to everyone.

Lucy smiled at Natsu and nodded before trotting towards the bar where Mira and the others waited. Before she could take her seat, she found herself in a bone-crushing embrace and looked down to find Levy crying into her chest.

"Lu-chan! I was so worried about you!" the petite mage cried out. She was squeezing the air out of Lucy until Gajeel came and pried her off.

"Personal space, Shrimp," he said as he sat her down.

Lucy laughed at their antics and finally took her seat at the bar between Gray and Erza while Mira came up to them behind the counter.

"How've you been holding up? I am sure you are upset," Erza stated. She always was straightforward.

"I've been fine," Lucy answered. "I guess I was a little upset at first because I didn't know my mother like I thought I did… But Natsu came over earlier and made me feel better. By the way, thanks for trying to save me, guys."

"Don't mention it," Gray chimed in while nudging her arm. "Thank _you_ for coming just in time and stopping Takeshi. I'm sure we would be dead right now if it weren't for you coming."

Lucy laughed awkwardly and fumbled with her skirt. "Yeah, you would also be dead if Master didn't come and stop _me."_

Gray laughed heartily as Erza smiled.

"That's true!" Gray replied.

"You really have grown quite strong, Lucy," Erza added. "We must train together some time."

There was a sudden crash nearby as Natsu ran up and shouted, "No! Lucy has to fight me!"

There was then a brawl throughout the guild, everyone fighting to be the ones to battle against Lucy. At first the blonde was nervous, but then she erupt into a fit of laughter. This was her home. This was her family. She watched the fight with anticipation, awed at how fast the number of contestants was dropping. Then her jaw dropped at what had happened next.

"NAB COME HERE!" Natsu shouted at the tanned man, who did nothing but oblige. Only to be punched harshly in the face by a flamed fist. "That's what you get for hurting Lucy!"

Everyone in the guild had stopped moving, their will to fight completely lost. Just what the hell was this boy talking about? Lucy collapsed to the floor as she felt all pairs of eyes land on her curiously. She wanted to crawl in a hole from the embarrassment she felt.

"N-Natsu!" she finally screeched, surprising the pink-haired boy. "What the hell are you talking about!?"

Natsu stared back at her with a confused expression and answered, "Weren't you and Gray talking about how Nab rejected you the other day?"

Lucy's jaw had dropped on its hinges even further than before as her skin turned sickly pale. He had been listening to her conversation with Gray in which she talked about her love for him.

" _At least he's such an idiot he doesn't know I'm actually in love with him…"_

"What the hell makes you think I was talking about Nab!? No offense, Nab."

"None taken," the tanned man replied, still sprawled across a table from being punched by Natsu.

Natsu stared at her incredulously and answered, "You told me that the guy you loved that rejected you was in Fairy Tail, likes about every food, has the favorite color red, and that his name starts with the letter 'N.'"

Lucy nearly died at the eruption of loud laughter that echoed throughout the guild hall. Just because Natsu was a dense idiot didn't mean that everyone else in the guild was. In fact, they were all aware of Lucy's feelings towards their fire dragon slayer. Hell, they knew about it longer than _she_ had. Now they were laughing at both Natsu's idiocy and the fact that Lucy was _finally_ aware of her feelings.

"Natsu," she seethed through clenched teeth, "I do not like Nab. Now shut up already!"

"You don't?"

"Nope."

"…THEN WHO IS IT!?"

Lucy literally face palmed as she turned away and focused her attention on the vanilla milkshake Mira had placed in front of her. Part of the blonde wanted to just come out and confess, just so she wouldn't have to deal with her friend's stupidity any longer. However, her fearful side had stopped her, not wanting to risk their friendships. Not to mention the fact that she didn't want to confess just to be rejected.

" _Nope. Not happening."_

Lucy knew that she had told herself to confess after the battle, but after everything had turned out alright, she had lost the motivation. Now that she wasn't desperate, there was no need to rush. And that was just how she wanted it. She didn't want to feel forced into confessing such important feelings because she feared Natsu was going to die. No, the girl wanted to confess knowing there was nothing to lose. No risking friendship, no losing lives. She wanted to confess knowing that Natsu felt the same. Thus, she waited.

* * *

After a long day at the guild, Lucy walked back towards her apartment, Natsu and Happy following closely behind.

"You walk so slowly, Lucy," Happy said as he flew in circles around the two.

"You know, you two don't have to walk me home," the blonde replied, slight irritation in her voice. "You guys better not be planning on staying the night. I will drag you out if I have to."

"So mean!"

"Agreed," Natsu said, though the grin on his face contradicted his words.

Once entering her apartment, Lucy quickly tried to shut the door so that her two friends wouldn't come inside. However, much to her chagrin, Natsu was undeniably faster and his reflexes allowed him to stop the door from closing just in time. Shoving it open with ease, despite Lucy still trying to shut the door, Natsu strode inside casually and slumped onto her couch.

"Face it, Luce," he began, "you just can't get rid of us."

"Aye!" Happy added.

"I hate both of you," the exhausted blonde said as she marched to where they were sitting and sat beside them.

"Don't worry, Lucy!" Happy said, flying towards the window. "I can't stay tonight! I have to uhh… walk Carla home! Yeah! That's what I have to do! Bye!" Before the exceed left, he winked at Natsu rather obviously.

"What was that for?" Lucy asked once the cat was gone.

"W-Who knows?" Natsu replied. He was glad that his usually smart friend wasn't smart enough to figure it out despite Happy's obvious efforts. He would definitely have to lecture his feline friend later. "Anyways, can I at least have a _hint_ about who you like?"

"W-Why do you wanna know so badly!?"

Natsu turned to face the blonde and shrugged, a light blush evenly spread across his cheeks. "Not saying."

Lucy stared curiously into his eyes. " _Does Natsu actually like me back? Why else would he be so interested in knowing who I like? Damn it this boy is going to be the death of me… This is it. No more being afraid, Lucy! Just do it! Your mom was brave, you need to be too!"_

Readjusting her position, the celestial mage turned herself so that her body was completely facing her partner. Getting onto her knees, she slowly made her way towards the pink-haired boy, who was watching her with his mouth open and the blush on his face deepened. Finally, Lucy mustered all of her courage and wrapped her arms around his neck. They were close, almost as close as earlier that day. She wasn't going to let him back out this time.

Fighting the part of her that desperately wanted to run back into her room and hide, Lucy inched her face towards Natsu. This was it. After the years of laughing, unintentional flirting, crying, and growing together, they were finally going to share a kiss. Lucy could only hope Natsu would react well to it. She just couldn't fight it anymore. She was utterly in love with her partner and there was no hope of moving on. Even a year and a half of being apart with no contact whatsoever couldn't help. She needed this.

Natsu gulped and his mouth began to feel very dry. He wasn't as dense as everyone thought he was. He knew what Lucy was going to do and could only wait with impatience as her lips traveled closer to his. His mouth was hung open, gaping like a fish. Thank Mavis Happy left or else he would never hear the end of his relentless teasing. A few strands of Lucy's golden hair brushed against his cheek, eliciting a shaky breath from the boy.

"L-Lucy-"

Finally, their lips met. Lucy was soft, her pink lips pushing against Natsu's as she shoved her bottom lip in between his. A volcano erupted in the pit of her stomach, followed by a swarm of butterflies. She cringed feeling how unresponsive her partner was, but at least he didn't push her away. Instead, he sat there frozen, his eyes as wide as they could possibly be. The blonde took in his scent and a quiet moan escaped her mouth. Natsu was still unresponsive, so she decided to end his suffering. She pulled away, her cheeks flushed and her eyes glued to the couch.

"I'm sorry, Natsu… I guess I just lost contr-"

Natsu leaned forward and crashed his lips against her own. While she was soft and gentle, he was rush and forceful, exciting the blonde to no end. He pushed her backwards so that her head rested on the armrest of the couch as he laid on top of her. He sucked on her bottom lip while she ran her fingers through his pink locks. His hands began to travel, one on the side of her while the other rested on her hip. Lucy could tell he was restraining himself, and that only made her want to push the boundaries.

Separating their kiss, Lucy skillfully flipped him over so that they were in each other's previous positions. She ran her fingers over his ab indentations and kissed him playfully. She squeaked in surprise as she felt Natsu's hand trailing down her spine and towards her rear. Quickly pulling herself away just in time, she sighed in relief as he hadn't touched her bum yet.

That was when the two took in each other's appearances. Natsu's hair was messy and his cheeks were flushed. His gaze stayed stuck to the opposite wall. He was clearly embarrassed over losing control, causing Lucy to giggle.

"Now do you see who I like?" Lucy asked in a quiet tone.

"I-I guess," Natsu replied, still refusing to look at her in fear he would pounce in hunger.

"You know you can look at me, Natsu."

The pink-haired boy sighed and he reluctantly met her gaze. The two blushed even deeper.

"S-Sorry," he said. "I guess this ruins my plan."

"Plan?" Lucy questioned curiously.

"I was going to flirt with you to get me to like me and get over Nab." The blonde laughed, Natsu laughing as well.

"I'd love to see your attempts at flirting."

"Really? Okay, well… H-How are you?"

Lucy burst into a fit of laughter. Natsu huffed in annoyance and playfully pushed her.

"I-I'm sorry, but really? How are you? That's the best you got?" Lucy asked, still giggling.

"Hey! I've never liked a girl before so this is all new to me!" Natsu shot back.

"So I'm your first?"

"Duh."

"You're mine too."

Finally it was Natsu's turn to ask the questions.

"Really?" he asked. "But you seem more experienced than me!"

"Nah. I guess I never found the right guy because I hadn't met you yet. And when I did we were both two dense idiots that couldn't put two and two together I guess," Lucy answered. "So this whole time we just danced around each other, huh?"

"I didn't wanna ruin anything… But I guess I didn't have to worry about that. Wait a second! How did I not figure it out then!?"

"Huh?"

"Favorite color red, in the guild, likes every food, and name starts with N! How did I not figure out it was me!?"

Lucy laughed and answered, "Because you're an idiot."

"I feel like one." He then ran a finger through her golden locks. "Though, I'm starting to think I like the color yellow just a bit more now."

Lucy fought from letting her flushed cheeks gain even more warmth. Thus, she changed the subject. "Sooo…"

"So?"

"What does this make us?" Lucy asked nervously.

Natsu shrugged. "I don't know. I guess a couple?"

"A couple? That's weird."

"Tell me about it."

"Should we tell the guild?"

"Nah. Let them figure it out on their own."

Lucy giggled. "Alright."

The two then cuddled up on the small couch, relishing in each other's warm touch. It was hard to believe that a week ago, they had been on a deadly mission. It was even harder to believe that ten minutes ago they were just friends. Life was weird like that. Yet the two wouldn't have it any other way.

 **AN:** YAY THEY FINALLY KISSED AND ARE TOGETHER HOW EXCITING. By the way, the next chapter is the last so stick around! :D

 **CelestialLunaPanda-Senpai:** DON'T WORRY THEY ARE DONE BEING TWO DENSE IDIOTS! And thank you so much but sadly there is only one chapter and an epilogue left! All good stories must come to an end and I don't want to drag it out and run out of ideas and abandon it! D: BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LIKING MY FIRT NALU STORY!

 **Aoutre:** Hello! :D And I know, I'm sad it's ending too! D: But it must be done! I'm glad you loved the story, and I hope the ending meets your expectations! And I actually have another nalu story out if you are interested and there will be more to come! Thank you for the review! :D

 **J.C:** Why hello again! :) And thank you haha :D

 **12Rayne:** Haha I love teasing everyone with the nalu ;D And yes, poor Nab but it must be done haha :D

 **Doom Marine 54:** You're back! Good to see ya! I don't understand why you reviewed the same hateful comment you did a while ago, but now I'm starting to think you leave that same exact review on everyone's stories haha! That's okay, have fun with your life! Keep leaving reviews lmao!

 **MirrorFlame:** I don't mind Rowen actually! Especially since some of the recent chapters in the manga haha! :D But Wendy/Mest makes me feel so uncomfortable because he's way too old for her and it's weird! D: And hahaha it had to be Nab because he fit all of the hints from their game and Natsu is too dense to realize that it's him haha! :D

 **Alexa60765:** Thank you so much! :)


	19. Chapter 19

**AN:** Hello everyone! I am sad to say that this is the LAST chapter of Better Together! This was my first nalu story and I am incredibly proud of it! I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU! Especially to those of you that reviewed this story, it made me so happy and inspired me to continue and write more! Thanks to those that favorite/follow the story too! Even those that simply read it deserve a big thank you! So again, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! PLEASE ENJOY THE LAST CHAPTER.

Chapter 19

Lucy woke up the next morning with a bright smile on her face as she recalled the events of the prior night. She had kissed Natsu. _She_ kissed _Natsu._ The girl still couldn't believe that she was able to muster all of her courage and do it. And she also couldn't believe that this whole time her feelings were reciprocated. While their new relationship was sure to take them places, she definitely wasn't going to allow it to change her. Thus…

"Natsu get out of my bed!" the blonde screeched as she pushed the sleeping boy onto the floor.

Natsu groaned in response and sat up to glare at his new girlfriend. "What's wrong, Lucy?"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to sleep in my bed!?"

The pink-haired boy shrugged. "I don't know. But we're a couple now, aren't we supposed to sleep together now?"

Lucy's cheeks flushed as she threw a pillow at her boyfriend. "We just started dating last night!"

"It's not like I had a choice anyways," Natsu replied, followed by a smirk. "You held onto me the entire time so I couldn't leave."

Lucy squealed as she punched the boy. "That's not true! Even if it was, you could've woken me up! Now get out so that I can shower!"

"Fine, I'm gonna go check on Happy and get ready to go to the guild. Later, Luce!"

With that, Natsu jumped out of the window, leaving Lucy to sigh to herself. A content smile crept to her lips. Things with Natsu were going to go slowly, but she didn't mind. She didn't want their relationship to change drastically anyways. Her friendship with the dragon slayer was great, it didn't need to change too much. However, the kisses and cuddles were definitely something she could get used to.

* * *

About an hour later, Lucy was all dressed and ready to go to the guild. The blonde studied herself in the mirror and found that she wasn't too stressed about her appearance, despite her new relationship. For that, she was glad. Things with Natsu were comfortable and she could simply be herself. Just Lucy. Hearing her window open, the mage knew her boyfriend and his trusty cat were there to walk with her.

"Lucy!" Happy shouted as he plopped into her chest. "Promise me you two will never kiss in front of me!"

Lucy blushed as she replied, "I promise I'll do my best with that. Shall we go?"

"Aye!"

While walking towards Fairy Tail, Lucy's heart fluttered as she felt Natsu's fingers intertwine with her own. This was proof that they were finally a couple. She was so glad, so happy to finally be-

"Eew, your hand is sweaty, Luce," Natsu said as he wiped his hand onto his pants.

Lucy stopped in her tracks. " _Scratch that. I am so not glad to be in this relationship."_ After some harsh blows to the dragon slayer's head, she continued her walk in peace. Finally, they arrived just outside the grand doors to the guild. "This is it, I guess."

Natsu came up from behind her and slid his hand into hers once again. "Loosen up, you're way too tense."

"I can't help it. I'm nervous as to how they're going to react. I mean, they've been teasing us since I joined the guild. I can already imagine Mira's smile."

The dragon slayer grinned as he hastily pulled the blonde inside. Happy flew towards his own crush, leaving the two on their own. All eyes quickly locked onto their hands. Lucy fidgeted in her spot while Natsu maintained his calm aura. Just like that, everyone went back to doing their own things.

"W-What was that?" Lucy inquired, surprised that there was no reaction whatsoever.

"Told you there's no need to worry!" Natsu replied, leading her towards the bar.

"Good morning, Lucy, Natsu!" Mira happily chirped as she set two glasses of water in front of them. It was a hot day after all.

"Morning, Mira," Lucy greeted in return. There was still no reaction, which kind of irritated her for some reason. After all the teasing, now that they were _finally_ together there was nothing?

"Erza, fight me!" Natsu said, charging towards the red-head only to be knocked to the opposite side of the guild hall instantly. There was a huge dent in the wall from the collision.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out as she hurried towards the said boy. It was obvious that she was more worried about him now that they were actually dating.

"Don't worry, Lucy!" Natsu replied after a groan. "It's nothing your boyfriend can't handle."

And just like that…

"BOYFRIEND!?"

The two were then swarmed by every member in the guild, bombarded by multiple questions.

"When did this happen!?" Mira asked frantically. She had dropped glasses by the counter but didn't mind. Her favorite pairing was _finally_ together.

"I want details, Lu-chan!" Levy shouted, grabbing the blonde and pulling her away. The rest of the girls in the guild followed, leaving the guys to circle around Natsu.

"So you finally did it?" Gray asked, helping the dragon slayer up to his feet. "Didn't think you had it in you."

"Whatever, stripper," Natsu replied, dusting himself off. "Now it's my turn to annoy you!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You and Juvia, duh."

Gray's face flushed instantly as he looked away. "First your girlfriend nags me about it and now you? I can't believe you beat me to it. B-But I'm working on it."

Natsu cackled as he shouted, "I won! I got a girlfriend before you!"

The two then began throwing insults, followed by punches and were soon on the ground fighting.

"So, Lu-chan, tell me everything," Levy demanded, ignoring the brawl that was happening on the opposite side of the guild hall.

"W-Well, there's not much to tell," Lucy replied, nervous as all the pairs of eyes were glued to her.

"Oh hush now! There has to be some juicy stuff that happened!" Mira chimed in.

"Hurry, Lucy," Erza added.

With a sigh, Lucy nodded and explained. "Well, Natsu came over to my place like always and I guess I just lost patience and told myself to grow a pair basically. So I kissed him."

"You what!?" Levy cried out. " _You_ kissed first!?"

"Didn't think you had it in you," Cana simply said. Lucy didn't know whether to feel offended or flattered.

"Juvia wishes she was as brave!" the water mage shouted, covering her blushing face with her hands.

"How was it!?" Mira asked. She looked as if she was about to explode.

"Well, it was good but… kind of awkward at first? Natsu didn't really do anything so then I got discouraged and ended it. B-But then he kissed me and he was actually into that one," the blonde answered.

All of the girls squealed in excitement and brought Lucy into a group hug. When they pulled away, things got awkward as Cana spoke.

"Sorry, Lisanna," the drunk simply said.

The silver-haired mage gaped as she slapped the brunette on the arm. "C-Cana, hush!"

"What's going on?" Lucy questioned.

Cana burped. It was early in the morning yet she was wasted. "Lisanna likes Natsu."

"Wait, Lucy! Before you go feeling bad and apologizing, I _liked_ Natsu! As in when we were kids! I got over that forever ago, especially after coming here from Edolas and seeing you two together!" Lisanna said defensively.

"A-Are you sure?" the blonde asked, guilt sprouting inside of her. She definitely did not want to hurt her friend.

Lisanna smiled and nodded. "I promise I don't like Natsu anymore. Besides, you two are better together."

The two girls hugged, glad to have gotten that out of the way.

"So, when's the wedding?" Mira chirped.

"W-Wedding!?" Lucy screeched.

"Yeah! You and Natsu are getting married right?"

"A-As if! It's bad enough I have to date him! Judging from how long it took us just to start dating, I'll be fifty by the time Natsu decides he wants marriage!" Lucy replied.

"But _you_ want to marry Natsu?" Levy asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Agh, shouldn't you and Gajeel be flirting somewhere!?" Lucy retorted.

Finally, the attention had been focused on Levy's relationship with Gajeel. They were just like Lucy and Natsu just the day before, dancing around each other. While they all laughed at the petite mage's embarrassment, Lucy began to think of their conversation from before.

" _Marriage, huh? Before it used to be such a scary concept for me considering I've had it arranged countless times. I suppose it doesn't sound too bad with Natsu. But that can wait for another day. We've got all the time in the world."_

And with that, Lucy headed towards the job board and plucked the most appealing one. Grabbing Natsu's hand, she pulled him up and declared they were going on a mission together.

"How about a kiss for good luck before we go?" Natsu asked, already leaning towards the blonde.

"I guess that would be smart," Lucy replied.

They shared a tender kiss, their lips locking in content. That is, until Happy came and pulled them away.

"You said you two wouldn't kiss in front of me!" the blue feline pouted.

"Sorry, Happy!" Lucy replied, though she wasn't sorry at all. "Shall we go now?"

"Aye!"

With that, the three were off, the dragon slayer and the celestial mage hand in hand while the exceed floated above. Lucy chuckled to herself. It was as if the three were a family, her and Natsu the parents while Happy was their child. With a small smile on her face, she sighed peacefully.

" _I wouldn't mind a family either."_

And with that, they continued their journey together with no cares in the world and the most eager smiles plastered on their faces. They truly were better together.

 **AN:** I know for the final chapter of a nalu story there isn't much fluffy nalu in it, but I wanted to show that the two could still be their goofy selves in the relationship so that's what they were! And the epilogue was going to have more nalu anyways! Anyways... HOW SAD THAT IT'S OVER. BUT WAIT! THERE IS AN EPILOGUE COMING SO MAKE SURE YOU STICK AROUND FOR THAT ALRIGHT!? THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH AGAIN I LOVE YOU GUYS!

 **Aoutre:** I KNOW HOW EXCITING FOR THEM TO FINALLY STOP BEING DENSE!

 **MirrorFlame:** Omg yes absolute perfect logic haha! AND YESSS EVERYONE JUST LOVES NALU KISSES YAY.

 **12Rayne:** I'M GLAD YOU'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT AS I AM HAHA! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 **CelestialLunaPanda-Senpai:** Your review made me so happy you have no idea! But yes, I will definitely make more nalu stories so keep an eye out! Once I post the epilogue for this chapter I'm posting another story that I've been working on! ALSO, I have another nalu story already out if you want to read that one as well! Thank you very much for the review!

 **Alexa60765:** I hope the guild's reaction was to your expectation! :D Thank you so much for your support throughout this entire story!

 **FireShifter:** Chapter 16: Haha yes had to add some Makarov awesomeness you know? :D Chapter 17: I did too I love whenever Natsu consoles Lucy and I just had to put it in my story! And I was so proud of how it turned out :') And you're right she's never shown any interest in Nab but he's just too dense! :D And it's true that he doesn't have any experience or anything with love! Chapter 18: Yes they are now a couple! :'D And as you can see being that this is the last chapter, Zeref did not make an appearance :( I'm keeping the epilogue light and fun and if I add Zeref it definitely would not be either of those things, though I do love Zeref haha! Thank you for all of the reviews! :)


	20. Epilogue

**AN:** Here it is, the epilogue. This is my first time ever making an epilogue and I actually really like it! I ended the last chapter specifically the way I did so that I could set it up for the epilogue! Hope you guys like it! Important announcements in the ending author's note so please read it! :D

Epilogue

 _Five years later_

"Natsu, wake up already!" Lucy shouted, furiously pushing the dragon slayer until he opened his eyes.

The pink-haired boy groaned as he sat up and yawned. "Why are you waking me up so early?"

"It's not early, it's ten o'clock and I want to see Juvia and Gray's baby already, so get out of bed before I hurt you!" Lucy answered, raising a fist in a threat.

"Fine, fine! I'll get up! Sheesh, you've been so moody lately."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?"

"N-Nothing, let's go!" Natsu said, throwing his clothes on and rushing towards the door.

"Lucy is scary in the morning," Happy stated, following his partner out of their home.

"Tell me about it. She's been even scarier recently."

"I can hear you two, idiots," Lucy chimed in.

Finally, the trio were just outside of Fairy Tail. Opening the grand doors, Lucy squealed as she ran towards Juvia, who was sitting with a bundle of joy cradled in her arms. The baby was undeniably cute, which made Natsu wonder if Gray was really the father. He had dark blue hair and blue eyes, looking just like Gray, though he had Juvia's button nose.

"Juvia, Yuki is so adorable!" Lucy cried out.

"Would Lucy like to hold him?" Juvia asked, carefully holding out her baby. She and Gray had gotten married two years ago and a few days ago had given birth to a handsome baby boy.

"I-I'm not sure if I know how," Lucy replied, scared to hold Yuki. Juvia insisted, however, so the blonde took the child into her arms. He didn't cry, instead he smiled at her. Tears formed in her chocolate brown eyes and she began to cry tears of joy, though she didn't know why. "H-He's just so cute."

Gray came and took Yuki from the blonde. "You and Natsu have been married three years, go make your own baby. This one is mine."

Lucy scowled, her brows furrowed. "As if. I don't know the first thing about being a mother. Besides, it's too risky. The child might come out with Natsu's brains."

"Or looks," Gray added. The two laughed, ignoring Natsu's protests.

Once Lucy stopped laughing, she glanced around the guild hall. She smiled as she saw Levy and Gajeel sitting together. It had only been a few months since they got married. Cana was still drinking straight out of the barrel, Lisanna was helping Mira behind the counter, and Makarov was still lecturing everyone about destroying things during missions. Not much had changed during the last five years, other than relationships and now little Yuki.

"I'm hungry," Lucy announced to nobody in particular. She sat at the bar so that Mira could take her order.

"Would you like your usual today, Lucy?" the silver haired mage asked with a warm smile.

The blonde frowned. "I'm actually not in the mood for that. I kinda want something… I don't know. _Sour?"_

"S-Sour?" Mira asked, her eyes widening, though Lucy didn't know why. There was a pause before the take-over mage spoke again. "Hey, Lucy, you look like you've gained a little weight, don't you think?"

Suddenly, the celestial mage burst into a fit of tears. "D-Don't remind me!"

A huge smile made its way onto Mira's lips as she stifled a laugh. Lucy never really cared when people mentioned her weight. Well, that's not entirely true. But she never reacted like this. Handing the blonde a plate of dill pickles, she hummed cheerfully.

"Lu-chan, why are you eating pickles?" Levy asked as she sat beside her former maid of honor.

"I don't know, I've just been craving something kind of sour recently," the blonde answered, her mood changing suddenly as she was no longer crying.

Levy's eyes widened and she shared a knowing glance with Mira. Eventually, all of the girls were in on the secret that even Lucy herself wasn't aware of.

"Juvia, could you come here for a moment?" Mira politely asked.

The water mage obliged as she sat on the other side of Lucy. "What is it, Mira?"

"I was just wondering, what did you crave during your pregnancy?"

Juvia placed a finger on her chin as she thought. "Juvia craved a lot of things. But Juvia supposes she craved sorbet ice cream and pickles the most."

Lucy froze mid-chew and she dropped the pickle that she was about to eat. Slowly turning her head, she faced the water mage. "P-Pickles?"

"Yep!"

The blonde shook her head. " _There's no way…"_

Then her husband's words rang in her head, followed by what Mira had said earlier.

" _Sheesh, you've been so moody lately."_

 _"She's been even scarier recently."_

 _"Hey, Lucy, you look like you've gained a little weight, don't you think?"_

Lucy's mouth gaped wide open like a fish as she covered her face with her hands. "Oh god…"

"What's the matter, Luce?" Natsu asked as he suddenly slung his arm over his shoulder from behind.

"N-Nothing!" Lucy lied. She should've expected her friend's to spill.

"LUCY IS PREGNANT!" they all shouted, the words echoing throughout the guild hall.

The said blonde whined in annoyance as she buried her head in her arms on the counter. This was not happening. How could she be pregnant? Oh right, they hadn't used protection last time. What an idiotic mistake.

" _Damn it, Lucy! I wonder how Natsu is going to react…"_

Slowly turning her head to meet her husband's gaze, Lucy was startled to find tears forming in his eyes.

"O-Oh my god, Natsu. I'm so sorry, I should've-"

"Sorry?" Natsu interrupted. He then pulled the blonde into a tight embrace. "Don't be weird, Lucy. I've been waiting for this to happen!"

"Wait, what? You _want_ a kid?"

"Duh! How awesome is it gonna be to have a mini-me running around!?" Natsu shouted, cackling afterwards. "D-Do you want a kid?"

Lucy paused. It wasn't that she _didn't_ want a kid, it was just that it was all so surprising. She wasn't expecting to have one, especially an unplanned one. However, when she held Yuki in her arms, there was no doubt in the blonde's mind that she wanted kids. The only thing she was worried about was her own ability to be a mother. After all, while she loved her parents, they definitely did scare her of becoming a parent herself.

"I do, but what if I'm a terrible mother?" Lucy asked, her eyes downcast.

"That's not even possible! You've been taking care of Happy and I for years! Lucy, I love you. And I know you are going to be the best mother for our child," Natsu said with upmost seriousness.

Lucy wiped away the few tears that had collected in her eyes and nodded. "Well, Mr. Dragneel, looks like you're going to be a dad."

There was a huge cheer throughout the guild, many congratulations being shouted. A huge party was thrown to celebrate not only the safe birth of Yuki, but also the creation of the unnamed child that resided in Lucy's belly. Nine months until Lucy had her own bundle of joy.

* * *

 _Five years later_

"Mommy, Daddy, wake up!"

Lucy groaned as she rolled over in bed. It was only five o'clock in the morning, but no. Little Nashi was never one to sleep in, unlike her parents. Sitting up, the blonde glanced to the side of her bed and smiled at her daughter.

"Good morning, Nashi," she said, hugging the small child tightly.

Nashi was undeniably the cutest child in the world. She had pink hair that ran to her shoulders and chocolate brown eyes that shone brightly every day. Lucy pouted knowing that she looked more like Natsu, but loved her child more than anything.

"You girls are so loud in the morning," Natsu said as he sat up. He then wrapped his arms around both of the girls in a loving embrace. "You guys never let me sleep in."

"Aye," Happy sleepily agreed, landing on Nashi's head.

"Blame your daughter," Lucy said, nudging her husband.

"I wanna go to Yuki's house now!" Nashi shouted, wiggling even closer to her mother.

Natsu grabbed the child and tossed her high in the air and caught her. Her giggles filled both parents with happiness.

"You can't go yet," Lucy said, dying after seeing her daughter's pout. That was one trait Nashi got from her mother besides her eyes. "Your Aunt Juvia and Uncle Gray are still sleeping. Everyone is meeting there in the afternoon, you have to wait."

"Don't worry, Nashi! Daddy will play with you! Don't want you hanging out with the stripper's kid too much, you know?" Natsu said, carrying the child out of the room.

It was now one o'clock in the evening and everyone had gathered in Juvia's house. Nashi and Yuki were playing outside along with Levy's son, Gale- who was two years younger than them. The adults were lounging in the living room, celebrating the soon-to-be newest addition.

Erza sat in the middle of the room, her stomach bulging as she and Jellal were expecting. After everything that had happened over the years, the blue-haired mage's crimes were wiped clean and he was a free man. They married quickly and were now pregnant, unexpectedly.

Lucy was reminded of her pregnancy while she congratulated Erza and Jellal. Natsu was there for every mood swing, every craving, every kick, and every doctor's appointment. He nearly fainted during the delivery, but he pulled through and filled the room with happy sobs as he carried Nashi for the first time. Lucy would never forget that moment.

Seeing Erza's stomach caused the blonde to subconsciously place her hand onto her own belly. Nobody had noticed the gained weight or the extra food she had been eating. Surely if they did, they would've pointed it out as usual. Glancing at her husband, Lucy smiled happily. Not wanting to take Erza's special day, she thought:

" _I'll tell all of them some other day."_

 **AN:** I loved this epilogue. But anyways, that's it! Better Together is officially over! D': I loved this story so much it's so sad! But thank you all again for reviewing/favoriting/following/reading my first nalu story! If you liked my writing and want more nalu stories, I have one posted already that I am working on. I've already posted the summary in this story so I'm not going to do it again.

But! I also have a new story that I am now going to post! Here is the summary: "The Flaming Key- Everyone gains a tattoo once they turn 16, linking them to their soulmates. The only hard part is finding your other half. Lucy Heartfilia has finally turned 16 and is on the hunt for her soulmate. Much to her chagrin, it's somebody that she had least suspected." It's based on a prompt textpost I saw on Tumblr and I thought it would be awesome to do it with Natsu and Lucy! So yeah! Hope you guys give those two stories a shot! THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR THE SUPPORT! :D

 **MirrorFlame:** I KNOW IT'S SO SAD BUT I'M PROUD OF MYSELF FOR FINISHING THE STORY AND I AM PROUD OF THE ENDING. And yes I have loved talking to you as well feel free to send me a message! :) We should definitely talk about you writing a nalu story so that I can be the one supporting you this time! :D

 **FireShifter:** Thank you so much I was actually really worried about the ending because this is the first story that I properly ended (no rushing or just leaving the story without an end). And thank you for your support on all my nalu stories! :D

 **Alexa60765:** Wow that's such an amazing compliment I never knew my stories were that good thank you so much! :'D And I know it's sad for me too I really loved this story but I'm so proud of myself for finishing this one instead of leaving it unended like most of my stories haha!

 **Aoutre:** Thank you so much! :)

 **J.C:** Thank you so much for all of the reviews :)

 **12Rayne:** Hahaha hope you have the same reaction for the epilogue with the nalu! Thank you for all of the reviews! :D

 **Mavis Chase:** Hello again! :D And thank you haha! :)


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